Knight's Doll
by xMyrrhx
Summary: Lady Ryou Touzoku was the unfortunate victim of an awful curse as a young child, due to her father's mistakes. If she can't find true love before her 21st birthday, she will turn into a doll...(AU, genderbent!Ryou, character death, Euroshipping and other side pairings).
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own it, I just like to write fanfics.

Story features genderbent Ryou because the idea just popped into my head so I'm rolling with it. If this isn't your cup of tea I suggest going elsewhere. Story also starts off with some character death. Obviously, this is an AU.

* * *

The Touzoku family had been beset with a rather awful curse shortly following two rather awful tragedies. Lady Touzoku had died giving birth to the youngest daughter, Amane. The baby was too early and had not survived. Burying his beloved wife and his youngest child had killed the heart of the already rough Lord Touzoku.

His two sons – Akefia and Bakura were both rather rambunctious boys of 11 and 9 respectively. Both were rather clever for their ages and Lord Touzoku couldn't be prouder.

That pride however was shattered one stormy, dark night.

* * *

The Touzoku boys were traveling home with their father from a trip to a nearby city (it was never too early in Lord Touzoku's opinion for the boys to start learning the family dealings in the trade and merchant business).

The carriage hurried along the dirt road, the horses snorting and tossing their heads – disliking the rain coming down in steady sheets. The thunder and lightning had them skittish as well and it was taking an extra firm hand from the carriage driver to keep them under control.

They were rounding a bend when a bolt of lightning tore down from the sky and struck a nearby tree, shattered the wood and causing a small fire, which the rain quickly doused. This was enough however, to send the horses into a panic. They reared up in their harnesses, whinnying and paying no attention to the whip of their driver as they bucked and finally broke into a frantic gallop.

The horses rounded another bend – this time too quickly and the carriage, as well as the four legged beasts, pitched over. The driver was tossed into a tree, breaking his neck and killing him instantly. The horses were pinned in a tangle of broken carriage gear and one another, dying slowly.

Lord Touzoku and his sons found themselves falling out of the carriage as the roof was roughly ripped off by rocks and tree limbs, the body of the carriage collapsing in on itself and its occupants.

Lord Touzoku was the only survivor and forever walked with a limp as a result of his injuries. His sons had been killed – crushed and with their heads split open on the ground.

Now he had only one child left and his grief overwhelmed him at the thought.

Ryou Touzoku was merely four years old when her family was torn apart by untimely events. Her father became a near stranger to her as he delegated servants to her care, unwilling to do the task himself of raising her. He threw himself into his work and left the girl on her own in their huge house.

Ryou would grow up, more than likely, to be the spitting image of her mother and that was something the Lord Touzoku couldn't bear to witness.

So, he threw himself into his work, leaving his daughter in the hands of his staff.

On the eve of Ryou's fifth birthday, Lord Touzoku made a very grave mistake.

* * *

Ryou sat quietly in the dining room of the too-big house, eating a piece of birthday cake. She had gotten a new dress for her birthday, handmade by one of the servants. Her father was nowhere to be seen, of course, ignoring his only remaining child to bury himself in trade deals and wealth.

It was storming outside and lightning periodically flashed. Ryou finished her cake and hopped down from the chair, quietly padding out of the room and through the long hallways, standing on her tip-toes to open the door to her room and then entering.

She sat on her bed, watching the rain and lightning out the window, wondering if her Father would come home at all for her birthday.

* * *

Lord Touzoku scowled as he beheld the person in front of him. Lord Pegasus wasn't someone that people generally liked to cross – there were rumors that he was rather versed in some kind of dark magic and that he wasn't above using it to get his way.

"I told you a thousand times that I am not selling the Touzoku business," he growled. "There is no offer of money you can give me that will make me change my mind."

"But Lord Touzoku, who will inherit it once you are gone? You know it is no secret that you lost your precious sons a year ago. All you have left is your daughter and clearly you aren't doing a thing about her."

"What do you know? And who will inherit _your_ company when you are gone? Everyone knows your wife, the Lady Pegasus died barren. I will marry off my daughter to a worthy man once the time comes and he shall inherit."

"Lord Touzoku, I suggest you hold your tongue," Pegasus murmured, a dangerous note to his voice. He let his gaze wander around the room until he settled on a photograph of Lord Touzoku with his family, taken shortly before the deaths of Lady Touzoku and Amane. Photography was a fairly new thing and the picture was just a little grainy and sepia in coloration. Pegasus smirked a little as he looked at the picture, picking out which one was Ryou.

"Then I believe our conversation is over," Ryou's father replied shortly. "We are not going to get any further in this discussion, Lord Pegasus. I have no intention of merging business with you, or letting you get your hands on it."

"I believe you are making a mistake most grave," Pegasus laughed darkly. "If only you realized that it is unwise to refuse my offer."

"It would be foolish of me to deal with a madman like you," Lord Touzoku answered. "I have heard the stories of you, everyone has. I have no interest dealing with someone of your nature. The last thing I need is my company to be associated with someone who couldn't even produce an heir. At least I have a daughter to marry off."

The temperature in the room seemed to plummet several degrees and Pegasus's tsk'd lightly, waggling a finger at Lord Touzoku.

"A daughter to marry off, you say? Then I suggest you get started looking..."

"What do you mean?"

The white-haired man laughed, spreading his arms out wide as a strange darkness seemed to fill the room.

"I give you a challenge, Lord Touzoku. Your daughter, Ryou, reminds me of a rather lovely doll. Therefore, she must find true love by her twenty-first birthday, or as soon as the clock strikes midnight on that birthday, she shall forever be a doll. Her limbs shall seize and become jointed. Her eyes will turn to glass and she will cease to be able to see or hear. Speech will leave her and breath shall no longer fill her lungs. Her heart shall cease to beat and she will be nothing more than a life-sized doll. But this transformation shall not be instant – it starts now. Oh-so-slowly shall she turn. You say you've heard I deal with the dark arts and you are correct. And this curse? I'm afraid the only thing that will break it will be true love. True love is what I and my darling Cecilia had and as you have such insulted it, this is what I shall give to you in return."

Lord Touzoku realized then that he had made a rather grave and unfortunate mistake.

And his only child, who he desperately wanted to shun to save his own wretched feelings, was the one who would be suffering the most devastating consequences.

* * *

Ryou was beaming as her father came home for her birthday, but the smile fell when the little girl saw that her father was looking upset. She was even more confused when he picked her up and held her tight, not saying a word.

"Daddy...?" the child whispered, wondering at this strange turn of events. She was like her brothers – far more clever and wise than most children her age.

"I am so sorry," Lord Touzoku murmured. "I am so sorry, Ryou. I have made a horrible mistake."

* * *

A/N: Randomly thought of this the other day so here we are. See you next chapter...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

* * *

Lady Ryou Touzoku walked quietly along the halls of her home. Although, it really was more like a prison instead of a home. Gone were the many servants – after she had been cursed her father had seemed to hit some sort of madness himself and had dismissed almost all the staff. Only a couple groundsmen showed up occasionally to make sure the house wasn't falling to pieces but inside there was only Ryou.

Since her curse, Ryou's body had been undergoing changes along with just general growth. Marks on her skin became more prominent as the years went past and she had taken to wearing clothes that covered her as much as possible. She didn't like to see how closely the marks on her elbows and knees resembled those of a ball-jointed doll, or the marks on her fingers and toes doing the same.

The girl took care of herself and just a few of the rooms in the too-big house. There wasn't any need to keep everything clean and it wasn't like her father was home all the time.

Lord Touzoku had thrown himself into his work, in his grief of ruining the life of his only remaining child. He showed up (if Ryou was lucky) at least twice a year to heap presents on his daughter as if he were trying to make up for lost time and then he would be gone again. She was thankful he at least kept up with the financial management of the household and had somehow convinced someone to deliver food supplies on a regular basis.

Ryou never saw these people, she was too worried about what they would think of her. They would just leave everything at the side entrance to the large kitchen area and she would bring everything in herself once the delivery people had left.

Ryou had lost her voice on her sixteenth birthday. There were no warning signs that it would leave her, she just simply woke up that day unable to make a single noise.

Her father had never told her just what mistake he had made that had cursed her body into this state. So many years of asking questions had gotten nowhere and she wondered if he was really trying to find a way to cure her or if he was just so lost in grief that he'd given up. She knew the end results – he'd at least told her that much, and what was happening to her – but no attempts had been made to try and find her true love.

Not that she could leave the house anyway. When she was younger and the marks weren't yet too apparent (and when she could speak), there had been some forays into the city. Now she didn't dare leave the safety of her prison. Girls her age didn't dress as conservative as she did, for one and the various religious orders had very particular styles of dress so she couldn't exactly pretend on that front (she was non-religious anyway and felt it would be rather rude to pretend that sort of thing). Besides, those who had been privy to the exchange between Lord Touzoku and Pegasus hadn't been able to keep their mouths shut and word of the curse traveled swiftly through the city – there would be no way she would be able to go into town without causing a large disturbance.

It was strange how no-one had just stormed the house and tried to kill her – everyone was rather superstitious and any sort of cursed person was generally removed of swiftly. She supposed some sort of deal had been worked out there too – she would stay alone on the grounds/in the house and the nearby townspeople wouldn't come over to cause problems.

It was either that, or they were suspicious of the house being haunted or perhaps cursed as well. Her father's business took him far enough away to where this blight on their family wasn't the biggest problem. It was only locally that it seemed to really matter.

Ryou passed her days wandering the halls, reading books in the library and staring out the windows. The house was on a decent sized swath of land, a fair distance from the city. There wasn't much to look at aside from trees and the occasional deer that wandered in to munch on the lawn.

* * *

The thunderstorm crashed in, the lightning dangerous enough to where it was striking trees and setting them aflame – the rain quickly dousing before an inferno could happen. The thunder rumbles were enough to shake the foundations of the house and Ryou sat quietly in the library. She was reading by candlelight, wrapped in a thick blanket as she tried to ignore the weather – it had been enough to keep her from being able to sleep that night – and stay calm.

The foundation shook again as thunder rumbled overhead and Ryou frowned slightly. Had she heard something else? It had sounded like a faint roar – which was rather strange. There were no creatures around here that made that sort of noise. Except maybe bears but she had never seen any get near the house.

Another strange roaring sound came along with the thunder and Ryou stood, the blanket falling away from her to pool on the couch she had been seated on. She set down the book and picked up the candle, letting it light her way faintly through the halls as she peered out the windows as she passed them, trying to figure out what was going on.

Thunder shook the foundation again and it was much stronger than before – Ryou nearly dropped the candle as she shot out a hand to brace on a wall. Another glance out a nearby window made her breath catch in her throat.

There was something lying on the front lawn of the mansion, though it was hard to tell exactly what. It did seem to have a silver sheen to it whenever lightning flashed.

Ryou steadied her balance and continued to make her way down the hall, trying to move fast but also not wanting to accidentally blow the candle out. She reached the foyer and set the candle on a table, moving swiftly to the large oaken doors and tugging at the heavy brass handles, the doors creaking open to reveal a rather dangerous outside world.

The rain was still hammering down and lightning continued to periodically light up the sky while thunder rumbled and clashed. She peered out into the darkness, trying to spot the thing she had spotted from the window.

Lightning spiked down into a nearby tree and she jumped in alarm as it splintered and crashed down, scattered wood fragments across the ground. Another burst of lightning and she saw a sheen of silver out of the corner of her eye.

Turning her head and gazing again into the darkness, Ryou couldn't help the shocked expression on her face as she beheld something she'd only read about in storybooks.

There was a dragon lying in her front yard.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and see you next chapter...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine...

* * *

The large, silver-clad creature in her front yard certainly seemed like it was a dragon. Its wings were folded slightly against its body and a long tail trailed out behind it. The beast had its head resting on the rain-soaked ground and it let out a noise that sounded like a pained moan. Ryou stared, unsure of what to do exactly. It wasn't every day that a dragon came crashing into her front yard!

The weather was also not exactly the kind of weather she wanted to go out in – it wouldn't exactly help the dragon if she got hit by lightning. The girl bit her lip, debating on if the poor creature would be fine until the weather let up or not. It wasn't like she'd be able to carry a beast of that size anyway, Ryou wasn't the strongest person around.

Another pained moan had her making her way across the slick grass – nearly slipping and falling a couple times – before she found herself next to the creature. It was just as impressive up close as it was from a distance and the beast regarded her with half-open eyes, clearly not in good condition. It didn't seem like it was going to attack her – or perhaps it was too weak to do so – and now that she was getting the full idea of how big a creature the dragon was, Ryou was even more unsure of what to do next.

As the rain drenched her completely, the young noble-woman knelt in the mud and tried not to flinch whenever lightning and thunder struck. She wished she could speak to the creature to reassure it or ask if it could move, but it didn't seem like it could do so anyway.

The dragon's form shuddered and Ryou was both shocked and alarmed as it began to shrink, features morphing and changing until there was no longer a dragon laying before her.

Instead there was a brown-haired man in garb that clearly stated he was a member of the Royal Guard, silver scales patterned down the sides of his face and a silver tail draped over his legs. Ryou could see rips in the man's tunic beneath his light-plated armor and one rather nasty looking gash in his side that still seemed to be bleeding.

She still wasn't sure she'd be able to get him inside on her own.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was the Captain of the Royal Guard and had been missing now for a grand total of three days past his supposed return date. He'd been sent along with a small squadron of soldiers to investigate the border between the kingdom he served and one of the neighbors.

Apparently, there were talks of beasts and monsters that had suddenly started to appear at this border – eating any poor person or creature who happened to get caught. These evil creatures were coming over from the neighboring kingdom (who was feigning complete innocence in the matter).

It wasn't like beasts and monsters were rarities – they were rather common in some areas but a sudden congregation like this was a bit out of the ordinary.

It had seemed rather easy – the beasts weren't any match for the soldiers and Seto – and he had to wonder why he himself had been sent to deal with this.

Then the dragon appeared. Lumbering out of the darkness of night it had immediately snapped up one of Seto's soldiers, devouring him in one bite as everyone else stood shocked.

Then the second dragon had appeared and Seto yelled for the retreat – there was no way his men could stand up to two dragons. He himself could probably handle one but even two was pushing it – especially as both happened to be Cave Dragons – slow but with powerful jaws and thick skin that wouldn't take damage easily.

The Captain shifted his form as his men ran, giving him space to change and hopefully tip the scales in their favor more.

Seto was a rare Blue Eyes White Dragon shifter and he roared his challenge at the two Cave Dragons, standing between them and his men. He took his job seriously after all and in his mind, the issue at the border wouldn't be resolved until the two opposing dragons were either chased off back where they came from or he killed them.

With blue lightning spitting between his jagged teeth, Seto lunged toward his enemies.

* * *

Seto was panting heavily by the time the battle was over, his left side a mass of pain from a large gash (turns out Cave Dragons had rather nasty claws too) and his body aching. He heaved himself into the air, away from the corpses of the two other dragons. He had no idea where his men were – had they retreated to safety or had something else gotten them? (It was the latter, unfortunately – they'd been outnumbered by some Silver Fangs and Man-eating Bugs – creatures taking the opportunity of dragons to ambush the humans). As rain began to pelt down from a suddenly black cloud sky, Seto attempted to find his way back home.

Disoriented with pain and blood loss, the crashes of thunder and blinding flashes of lightning that started to accompany the rain did nothing to help. It didn't take much for the silvery dragon to get way off course and eventually his strength gave out.

Seto Kaiba fell to the earth below, landing in a rather undignified manner (a rather heavy crash landing) in the yard of one Lady Touzoku's manor. He was only vaguely aware of a young woman approaching him – her white hair matted with rain and dress getting splattered with mud – before darkness took him away.

* * *

Ryou sighed to herself as she somehow draped the rather injured and unconscious young man over her back and shoulders. It was very undignified and she was moreso dragging him along as she began to trek back inside, wanting to be out of the weather so she could clean herself and her new guest up.

She wondered what could possibly have brought a member of the Royal Guard to her doorstep. Especially one who was a dragon shifter – she'd only read about these people in books and to see one was honestly a bit exciting.

Once they were in the foyer, Ryou breathed a little easier, if only at the fact that now they were safe indoors and away from the lightning and rain.

She continued to drag her guest – hoping she wasn't injuring him further – into one of the lounges that she kept tidy and dust-free. Hefting the body onto one of the couches, she stood back for a moment, breathing heavily from the effort of moving him.

Ignoring her own needs for now, more concerned with her guest and his condition, Ryou knelt beside the couch and began to figure out how to get the light plates of armor off. That wound looked awful and she needed to be able to get to it clearly if she was going to try and help at all.

The rain had been chilling and the room wasn't exactly the warmest, so her fingers were a bit stiff and shaking as she worked free rain-logged leather straps and piled the lightweight armor on the floor next to her. She worked off the heavy boots to make her guest more comfortable, setting those with the armor. This task done she stood, making her way to the fireplace and getting a fire going, glad that she'd had the thought to bring in some wood recently. It would take a while for the room to heat up and she looked back at the young man on the couch, brow furrowed in worry.

Ryou hoped that she would be able to help him out. He was a member of the Royal Guard after all and that meant that it wouldn't be long before someone started to look for where he had gone.

* * *

A/N: Hope this still enjoyable, see you next chapter...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I'm just a simple fanfic writer...

* * *

Armor stripped from the Royal Guard stranger before her, Ryou sat back and contemplated her next move. She wouldn't be able to stitch the wound closed – it was far too big for that – and she didn't have any experience with that regardless. Biting her bottom lip as she thought, the teenager wracked her brain. There were some bandages somewhere in the house and if she could find some clean rags or something to act as absorbent gauze then perhaps her strange guest would be able to hang on until someone stumbled on the house.

The bleeding had seemed to stop on its own however, just in the time it took for her to remove the plated armor, so that was a bit of a relief. The injury still needed some attendance, however.

At least, she thought she should remain hopeful about someone finding them. She couldn't leave the house – the townspeople would certainly never help her – and she didn't want to leave the injured young man alone anyway.

Ryou had the feeling the young man wouldn't be waking up for quite some time and this was proven true when she sneezed and he didn't even flinch. Realizing she should probably clean herself up – it wouldn't do to get sick and be unable to care for the young man on her couch – she stood and made sure the fire was still going well before leaving the room.

* * *

A quick hot bath refreshed her and she changed into fresh clothes as well – not taking the time to enjoy a good long soak as she didn't feel she had the time currently. Hair tied back quickly in a thick braid, Ryou scouted out any clean rags and bandages that she could. Being kept isolated from the rest of the world meant she didn't have a top-notch healing cabinet, so she was without any sort of pain relief tonics – which would be rather useful as she did have some wound disinfectant and that tended to be rather painful to deal with.

Gathering the items together, Ryou hurried back downstairs to see how her guest was doing.

* * *

The man that had formerly been a dragon hadn't budged and the fire was thankfully still going strong – and had helped some in getting the young man drier. Setting everything down where she could reach it, Ryou had to go looking again for scissors to cut away the tunic he wore so she could tend to the injury in his side.

She worked carefully and quickly, on the lookout for the slightest hint that he was waking up – he'd been a dragon of course and she wasn't entirely sure if that meant he'd wake up ready to attack her or not, considering the state of his injury.

Once the tunic was off and she had as best a view of the wound she could probably get, Ryou sat back. Picking up the disinfectant tonic, she picked up a clean rag and wet a bit of it with the liquid. Silently praying to whatever deities were out there that the former dragon-turned-man wouldn't suddenly wake up and attack, she began to carefully dab the cloth around the edges of the wound to start cleaning it up.

* * *

Seto Kaiba drifted in a warm, dark place. His body felt rather heavy, not to mention a bit damp. The young man struggled to get back to consciousness, sensing that perhaps he was far away from home. His body and mind didn't seem to want to respond to his need to be awake and the whole process was a rather sluggish affair.

As he drifted closer to waking up, he could faintly since a growing pain – a horrid mess of burning, aching and sharp stabbing. He could faintly feel something pressing to his skin – and causing more stinging sensations – and it took everything in him to not voice his discomfort.

As the sensations continued to build, Seto Kaiba opened his eyes.

* * *

Ryou paused as she saw her house guest was starting to wake up. His brow was furrowed in obvious discomfort and she did her best to quickly finish with the cleaning – knowing that the disinfectant did have a rather strong stinging aftereffect when applied. A soft groan had her pausing again and glancing at the face of the brown-haired Royal Guard.

She found herself looking at the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.

Swallowing thickly, Ryou found herself a little taken aback. While the young man's eyes were hazed with pain, they were still a rather brilliant shade that she had never seen before.

* * *

Seto Kaiba, meanwhile, was very confused. Where the heck was he and who was this who was staring at him?

He shifted and immediately choked back a pained groan as the feeling of someone twisting a knife in his side was the result. This also had the effect of jolting the girl out of whatever surprised stupor she was in and she was immediately leaning over him, pressing a cloth to his side – and thankfully this cloth didn't seem to have anything on it that meant more pain.

As the girl tended to his wound – his movement had caused blood to start seeping again – Seto took a moment to study her.

She was on the younger side and seemed to be delicately built. Snowy white hair was pulled back in a braid and she had chocolate brown eyes. He wondered who she was.

The girl pulled the now bloody cloth away and placed another in its place, reaching for another and pressing it to the wound, holding it in place with one hand as she grabbed a roll of bandages. Seto hissed through his teeth as the bandages were used to secure the cloth, the girl giving him a look of sympathy as she worked them around his abdomen and tied them off once she'd secured the cloth over the wound.

"Where...am I?" Seto asked once the pain had receded enough to where he felt he could speak without yelling in agony. "And who are you...?"

The girl bit her lip and seemed to fidget for a moment, remaining silent. The Royal Guard furrowed his brow at this behavior and wondered why she wasn't answering him.

He got his answer when she pointed to her mouth and shook her head.

So, his mysterious rescuer couldn't speak.

Great.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the continued support, see you next chapter...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

The first conversation between Seto Kaiba and Ryou Touzoku wasn't exactly the most exciting conversation in the world. Considering that one of the two was barely conscious and the other was mute, it made for a very awkward few minutes.

It was a few moments spent in silence, Ryou biting her lip and twiddling her thumbs nervously.

Seto wasn't really in the mood to deal with a prolonged, awkward silence.

He let out a sound that seemed like a cross between a frustrated sigh and a growl, hoping that this all wasn't going to be a one-sided conversation.

"Do you have something to write on...?" he asked, wanting to roll his eyes as she looked startled and then jumped up to go retrieve something.

Ryou meanwhile, was feeling a little silly as she looked for some paper and something to write with. It really should have been one of the first things to think of in order to communicate with her guest. Although considering the circumstances of the situation, it made sense that she would be a bit distracted and not thinking clearly.

Returning to the lounge, the teen girl sat back down where she had been, pen poised to write as she glanced over at the former dragon laying on the couch.

Seto made that frustrated noise again. Apparently, he would have to take the lead on the conversation if they were going to get anywhere.

"So... will you answer my earlier question? Who are you and where am I?"

Ryou carefully wrote her answer down, hoping that her handwriting was legible. She'd written in diaries (and wrote letters to her deceased siblings and mother), but no one had ever read what she'd written before.

"Ryou Touzoku..." Seto murmured as he read the flowing cursive. "House of Touzoku outside of the city of Vilaitsi."

Vilaitsi wasn't horribly far away from the capital city of Domino, but he had still landed rather off track of his original destination. Vilaitsi was about a three to four-day journey from the capital and a half-day journey from the border.

Ryou's family name didn't seem all that familiar – Seto didn't recognize it though he did recognize the city they were near.

A twinge of pain shooting up from the injury had him hissing momentarily through his teeth while Ryou dropped her writing utensils to check that his wound was still covered properly and that he wasn't getting worse.

"You don't...have anything for pain, do you?" Seto grumbled, not really looking forward to dealing with the constant (literal) ache in his side. At Ryou's reply – a shake 'no' of her head – the dragon resigned himself to a rather uncomfortable time healing. Ryou picked back up her writing pen and paper and wrote down a question, showing it to the Royal Guard.

"My name...?" Seto's words were just slightly slurred, the pain getting to him. "Seto Kaiba...Captain of the Royal Guard..."

It wasn't much longer after that that he was passing out, lapsing into silence as he was swept away into the realm of unconsciousness.

Ryou sighed, a gentle exhale of breath from between her lips.

So, he wasn't just a member of the Royal Guard – he was the one in charge of it.

Someone would most certainly be looking for him now and she wondered how long it would take before she had more guests.

* * *

"How goes the search?"

"We're still looking, Majesty. We have sent out several search parties to different areas that he could possibly have been in during his mission. We haven't heard any reports yet so it may still be some time before he is located."

"I understand, but it's already been some time and that does not make me happy. Considering he hasn't returned on his own and we haven't heard anything, I am assuming he is in some kind of danger and I do not like wasting more time waiting to find out his condition. I hope the search parties are aware they should make haste?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. I believe everyone knows that time is of the most importance. We are searching along the border he was sent to as well as any cities in the general vicinity. The moment we receive any news I shall of course inform you."

* * *

"Alright men, here we are at Vilaitsi. I want everyone in groups of three and each group will take one of the four quadrants of the city to question the residents. Remember that you represent the Royal House so be on your best behavior – I don't want to hear any reports of any rough treatment of the citizens! Any tips we can gather on Sir Kaiba's whereabouts will be useful, no matter how small! Now, split into groups and let's begin!"

* * *

Seto Kaiba spent several hours in an unconscious state, Ryou staying nearby in an armchair, working on some needlepoint to pass the time. Occasionally she would glance over at her odd guest to see how he was fairing. The teenager was a little worried at the slight flush that had overtaken his face, indicating a fever. Fever generally meant infection and she had no way to combat that – much less summon a doctor for help.

Ryou sighed and retrieved a wet cloth, draping it over Seto's forehead, frowning slightly. She was pretty sure it wouldn't be a good thing if the Captain of the Royal Guard died of a fever because of a bad injury while in her house.

* * *

"Excuse me, ma'am? Have you seen a member of the Royal Guard lately? Stands about my height, blue eyes, brown hair, has some dragon features?"

"Can't say I've seen anyone like that around here," replied the city dweller, shaking her head. "We don't get many of your folk in these parts."

"Well then, who lives in the house there?" the solider asked, gesturing to a house some ways from the city, the roof just barely peeking out above the tree line. "We've had no luck in the city and wonder if there's someone there we can ask?"

A dark look crossed the woman's face and she shook her head.

"I would suggest you stay away from that place. A curse haunts it, no one goes there. If your fellow soldier ended up at that place I would just count them as lost. I suggest you forget about that place, Sir. No one here is going to be happy to talk about that place, much less assist you." She then shook her head again and walked off, leaving the soldier looking over at the distant house.

* * *

A/N: I didn't make up the city name. I went to one of those generator things where it gave a random list of cities from around the world. Vilaitsi happens to be an actual place in Lithuania.

Also, I've noticed something and it's confused me so maybe folks can shed some light on it – I see that people Follow my completed fanfics and I'm not sure why? I mean, they're completed, so I'm not going to be touching them again...?

I guess for some authors they do go back and revise so maybe people follow in case that happens? Just been pondering this recently...


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh!...

* * *

"Sir, are you completely and positively sure that we should be going here? Everyone in the town seems to think it's haunted or cursed!"

"Are you or are you not a member of the Royal Guard, soldier?! We laugh in the face of danger and we go wherever we are needed – even if that means going to a haunted house! If you're too scared to go on, then feel free to stay put and then explain yourself to Captain Kaiba when we find him!"

There were no further complaints from any of the soldiers in the group and they meekly followed the leader up to the entrance gate of the house.

"Keep your eyes peeled, men!" the leader ordered. "Look for any signs of our Captain or any clues to his whereabouts!"

"Sir, yes Sir!"

"Erm, Sir? The gate is locked," a soldier commented non-helpfully as they gathered in front of the massive iron structure. Peering through they could see why people thought the house was perhaps cursed or haunted – it wasn't in the best condition but still seemed solid. The yard wasn't much to look at either – full of dead plants of varying sorts and scattered debris.

The leader of the band of soldiers frowned as he regarded the rather heavy padlock on the iron gate. It was rusted just a little, indicating that it had been in place for quite some time.

"Let us see if there is another way in. Perhaps there will be something that isn't locked."

They really had no reason to be here and this was probably a giant trespassing error, but considering the state of the house they would at least try to find another way in (just in case someone _was_ home and less than thrilled at vandalism...)

Tromping around the perimeter, the soldiers came across what seemed to be a servant's entrance, or perhaps a delivery entrance. There was oddly no lock on this gate and it creaked open with a simple push.

"Keep your eyes open and spread out," the leader commanded as they entered the grounds. The house remained silent and honestly a little foreboding as they entered. Spreading out across the yard, then men began to examine everything to see if there were any signs of life.

* * *

Inside the manor, Ryou remained with Seto in the lounge, not really being able to move him from the couch upstairs to a bedroom where he might be able to be a little more comfortable. He continued to burn with fever and she was doing all she could to try and treat the symptoms.

As she placed another cold, damp cloth to his forehead, she could begin to hear the distant sounds of someone shouting outside. Then other voices began to ring out one at a time on occasion. The girl stood and moved over to a window, peering out to see if she could see anything.

Her eyes widened and she saw what looked to be soldiers milling about her front yard. They were currently all gathered around the rather sizable dent in the ground that Seto had left and she watched them then notice the small furrows on the ground from where she had dragged the Captain of the Royal Guard inside. She pushed away from the window then and rushed from the room, for the moment not caring about her curse and what anyone would think of it. She was more concerned with getting the men to Seto – certain that they could help more than she could.

Ryou reached the solid doors of the foyer and threw all her strength into dragging them open quickly.

* * *

Then soldiers stopped what they were doing when they heard the creak of a door and noticed that the heavy oak doors that led into the manor were opening.

The leader motioned for the rest of the men to stay put and strode to the entranceway, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword just in case.

He was very surprised when a young girl appeared in the opening.

* * *

Ryou stared out at the soldiers.

Now that she had opened the door, she was a bit uncertain of what to do next. She couldn't speak and this was also the first time that "guests" had appeared. She shrank back (out of reflex) just a tiny bit as one of the men approached her.

"Greetings young lady. We are members of the Royal Guard! We seek information concerning our Captain, one Seto Kaiba. Have you possibly seen him? He's a dragon shifter and it seems there is a dragon-shaped crater in your front garden..."

Ryou's eyes darted around, studying the men briefly before she made a beckoning motion to the leader.

"Is he here?!"

Ryou's nod seemed to be all he needed and he barked orders to the other men – two would accompany him inside and the rest would remain in the front yard.

The young lady of the house led the three soldiers through the foyer and into the lounge. She pointed at the couch where Seto lay and upon hearing a soft groan from said couch, promptly forgot about her new guests and rushed to see the Captain.

Seto's eyes were half-opened and hazed with fever. He didn't seem too aware of Ryou dabbing helplessly at his face with the cold cloth, wiping away sweat. The men had followed her and they collectively gasped at the sight of their leader – looking in rather horrible condition.

"What happened here?!" the leader of the men asked, moving forward to look closer at Seto. "He is badly injured! Girl, what did you do to him?!"

Ryou looked up at him, eyes widened in fear as she rapidly shook her head, unable to voice that this wasn't her fault and that she had just been trying her best to help. She then frantically gestured to her throat/mouth before diving for the paper and writing utensil nearby, hastily scribbling down words as the man demanded to know what she was doing and why she wasn't speaking.

'He fell from the sky during a storm and landed in my yard. I do not know how he got hurt. I do not have the supplies here to take care of it properly and no one will come help me. I am unable to speak.'

After reading the words that had been near-frantically shoved in his face, the leader of the soldier group looked a little ashamed of himself for yelling at a poor mute girl.

"Why won't anyone help you? Are they that silly to think that being mute is a curse? The city folk said this placed is haunted and/or cursed..."

Ryou bit her lip and scribbled more words down, showing the leader the paper afterward.

'I was cursed as a child because my father made a mistake. The people in the city fear that interacting with me will curse them too.'

It was rather foolish, considering that for the most part, curses didn't exactly travel like diseases.

'Please take him with you. He's so ill and I cannot do anything more for him.'

"Do you have anything we can use to put together a sort of stretcher?"

* * *

Ryou watched the men leave with Seto, the way they had come in. A few extra sheets were being used as a makeshift stretcher so they could transport the injured Captain. The young Lady Touzoku watched them leave from a window, and wondered if Seto was going to survive.

* * *

A/N: This was sort of a filler chapter...sorry if it was boring.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it...

* * *

Lady Ryou Touzoku awoke on her seventeenth birthday wondering what the curse had stolen from her this time. It had been three weeks since the odd encounter with the Royal Guard – most notably the Captain and life had very quickly returned to a rather dull and lonely existence now that he was gone.

On her seventeenth birthday, Ryou awoke to find that she could no longer see out of her left eye. Some of the marks on her body were more pronounced – indicating what her appearance would be when the curse finally took its final toll.

She stared at herself in the mirror, her left eye thankfully not the glass eye of a doll (yet), but just hazed over with a white pupil. The markings on her hands and elbows were more pronounced and she resisted the urge to just smash the mirror to pieces – she wasn't exactly superstitious but considering she was already under a curse, she didn't want to risk it.

Turning away from the mirror, Ryou set doing her usual morning routine. She changed from her sleepwear into an outfit for the day, spent a while brushing her hair before braiding it to keep the white strands out of her face.

Ryou wasn't feeling very hungry either, but she forced herself to at least eat a little bit of fruit. As the years had gone by since her curse, she had found that her body seemed to require less and less to keep functioning as it oh-so-slowly turned into a doll.

There was, as most every year, no celebration for her birthday. Her father never sent presents on her birthday – he just gave her a bunch of things on the rare visits to make up for it all.

She wondered if he would ever just stop coming home. It seemed likely, as the years went by – he seemed to be much more concerned with the business and keeping it afloat as long he was alive, bringing in the money and forgetting that he had a cursed child.

Her meager breakfast over, Ryou tied up the skirt of her dress around her knees and went outside to see if there was any way to fill in the tracks and giant crater from when Seto had crashed into her front yard. The ground was thankfully no longer entirely made of mud – but she didn't have proper boots, so she went barefoot.

The crater, after some inspection, seemed to be a rather lost cause – she didn't know if there was even a useable shovel around and using her hands would take too long. The furrows from where she had dragged Seto were thankfully rather shallow and all she had to do was push the edges back down to fill the gaps.

The teen sat there in the dirt for a while afterwards, not caring that she'd probably ruined her dress – it was an older one anyway so it wasn't that important. Besides, it wasn't like she needed to look nice right now for anyone.

Looking up at the sky, she wondered if Seto had recovered from his injuries.

* * *

"You know, I'm rather certain the healer said you aren't supposed to be out of bed yet. Do you really distrust her judgement?"

Seto sighed and turned to face the one speaking to him.

"Hello, Your Majesty," he said with a note of resignation in his voice and a slight incline of his head – he couldn't exactly bow with the healing wound. "I take it you are personally going to escort me back to bed?"

"Yugi would have my head if you ended up worse and you know that Yami would take his side in an instant. I'd rather not deal with two angry husbands, if it's all the same to you," Atemu replied with a wry grin. "And I'm rather sure you wouldn't want Healer Anzu getting on your case. I believe she is far worse than my partners."

Seto let out another sigh, though there was a growl of frustration mixed in. Yes, his side hurt and yes, he really wasn't supposed to be out of bed yet (according to Anzu he'd been very close to losing his life to the wound, dragon-shifter or not). There were still bandages in place and it was only in the past week that he'd stopped having fevers.

"I could always tell your brother to come home from boarding school..." Atemu commented idly. "I'm sure he'd love to nag you..."

"No. No informing Mokuba about this. He needs to concentrate on his schooling. He doesn't need to be distracted over something like this."

"Seto, if you hadn't crash landed where you did, you would probably be dead right now. When you are fully healed you should visit Lady Touzoku and thank her. It would be only proper to do so, since she saved your life."

Seto nodded and was about to say something when the two of them heard a rather angry sounding shriek from elsewhere.

"SETO KAIBA WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU – "

Atemu chuckled and turned to go find his husbands.

"Good luck calming down our Healer," he commented over his shoulder to the Captain of the Royal Guard. "You should go back to your room before she tears the palace apart looking for you."

* * *

 _Dear Mother,_

 _I wonder if Father is going to be coming home soon? I know he will just heap gifts upon me and promptly depart but at least for a split second he shall be home. When this curse completely takes me, will he just abandon me to rot in this home?_

 _I fear he has lost his mind, all these years. I wonder if he loves me at all or if he just feels the obligation to at least provide me with the minimum since I am his last child._

 _Perhaps if the curse takes me – and I really do not see how it shall be otherwise – perhaps it will make Father happy again. He won't have to worry about caring for a daughter who is of no value. I will be of age of marry next year, but who would want someone like me?_

 _And even if I were to marry – if it is not my true love then I shall still turn to a doll._

 _I wonder if I will get to see the Captain of the Royal Guard again? Has he joined you and my brothers in Heaven? I sincerely hope he has recovered._

 _It is lonely here, Mother._

 _But I do not have the strength or will to hasten my departure from this life..._

 _Yours Sincerely,_

 _Ryou_

* * *

A/N: Yes, there is a bit of background Mobiumshipping (I think that's what it's called?). Stay tuned for the next chapter...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own it...

* * *

There were such things as good intentions and Seto honestly did have the best of intentions to go back and visit Ryou sooner rather than later. It was only polite after all, to go thank the young noblewoman who had saved his life.

The best of intentions often gets waysided by other things, however, and this was definitely the case.

He really did mean to go back once his injury had fully healed.

But he had fallen behind while being forced by Healer Anzu to stay in bed as much as possible and as soon as he was cleared to resume his life, he threw himself into finding out just how wimpy his soldiers had gotten in his absence.

He also had to reconcile with the fact that the troupe he'd originally left with had fallen while he was fighting off the dragons. Those had been some good men and he could easily tell that their deaths had impacted the morale of the remaining soldiers. He also felt that he was to blame, in that he had allowed himself to get so focused on the dragons that he hadn't made sure the other soldiers had made it to safety.

The large scar on his side from the Cave Dragon claws would remain more than just a reminder of his battle – it would also be a constant reminder of the lives lost under his command.

* * *

Ryou sighed as she sat alone in the kitchen, sipping at some tea. She idly played with the ends of her hair – left loose today as she couldn't be bothered to make herself presentable. It wasn't like anyone was showing up to see her anyway.

With her eighteenth birthday showing up in just a few months – had that much time passed already? – she was contemplating what perhaps might be taken from her next. Sight in her other eye? Her sense of touch? Her hearing?

Regardless, she realized that it was getting dangerous to have her bedroom upstairs. There was a slight problem in that there were no bedrooms on the first floor of the manor. She wasn't strong enough to drag furniture around either and she was very sure that no one would come help her.

If she kept her remaining sight this next birthday, then she wouldn't worry (yet) about trying to turn a downstairs room into a makeshift bedroom.

But it probably wouldn't hurt to go ahead and at least move some clothes into one of the unused lounges. She couldn't move furniture but she could at least move empty chests to use for storage and she would make do with sleeping on a couch.

Ryou didn't really want to think of what could happen to her if she fell down the stairs (though that was still a possibility even with her remaining sight).

The young girl's tea had grown cold by the time she finished her thoughts and she just sighed again and poured it out, not in the mood to make more. Squaring her shoulders, she left the kitchen and went to her room to see what she could move downstairs.

* * *

"You still haven't gone to see her, have you?" King-Reagent Yugi commented idly to Seto in passing. "Shouldn't you have gone as soon as Anzu gave you the ok to resume your duties?"

It regretfully took Seto a few moments to realize who Yugi was talking about and he let out a little growl of frustration.

"It's rather rude to keep a lady waiting, isn't it?" Yugi continued with a little grin on his face. "And aren't you knights all about chivalry and things like that? It's been a year already since you returned so I think you are quite overdue to go thank Lady Touzoku, don't you think?"

Had it already been so long? Seto had lost track of time (and he was rather ashamed to admit he'd forgotten all about the young girl who had saved his life).

"Besides, I've done some digging into her family name," the tiny ruler said as he studied his nails absent-mindedly. Yugi was known for being too curious for his own good sometimes, a little quirk that often (affectionately) annoyed his partners Atemu and Yami.

At this Seto paused and turned to look at the spiky-haired young man.

"She's all alone in that house. There's no servants, no one. She's under a rather bad curse too. No one will see her and I've heard whispers the soldiers even had a tough time going to the house – the people in the city nearby thought it to be haunted, or that the curse was contagious. I don't know what the curse does exactly but I can't imagine what it's like to be her."

"She's cursed?" Seto murmured, his brow furrowing. He wondered if that was the reason for her being mute.

"That's what I've found out," Yugi replied with a shrug. "I can't imagine what living in isolation since her childhood has done. Plus, I saw the recent reports Atemu was reading on trade. Her father is dead, Seto. He was on a merchant ship sunk in a bad storm at sea – no survivors. I have the feeling that no one in Vilaitsi is going to even bother telling her."

"And why are you telling me all this, Your Majesty? There seems far more to this than just thanking her for saving my life."

"I knew her family when we were very young," Yugi replied softly. "Before I was swept up into my life and before she lost most of her family. She has no one right now and I would like to know an old friend of mine is safe. If she is here then I know she'll be taken care of and we can find out more about that curse, and how to break it. Plus, with her father gone, there will be no one to keep that house standing much less keep Ryou supplied with food. As an old friend of hers, as Yugi, not as King-Reagent, I humbly request you go retrieve her."

* * *

Ryou's eighteenth birthday started with a literal deafening silence. The teenager pressed her hands hard to her ears as she struggled to contain the growing tears of frustration and hopelessness. But regardless of what she did – the silence persisted. No more could she hear the rain outside, or birds singing. No more would she hear a kettle whistling on the stove. She would not be able to hear anyone's voice again.

* * *

 _Dear Mother,_

 _How long until this new silence drives me completely mad? With each passing year this curse takes more from me yet here I am doing nothing to fight back._

 _Where is Father? I have not seen him in so long. Has he finally forgotten about me? Will this curse allow me to starve away instead of cursing me to the lifeless existence of a doll?_

 _I hope you, Akefia, Amane and Bakura are well._

 _I feel I have lost all hope for my own life. There is nothing left for me to give._

 _Sincerely Yours,_

 _Ryou_

* * *

A/N: Old childhood friend/acquaintance route ahoy. I needed a bit more of a reason for Seto to go back (as clearly just a thank-you visit wasn't quick on the list of things to happen) so why not have Yugi know Ryou from very far back?

See you next chapter...


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for it...

* * *

It went without saying that it was hugely ironic that the day Seto went to retrieve Ryou, a storm similar to the one he'd crash-landed in had decided to make things difficult.

Well over the injury now, he could have easily made the journey there in dragon-form, but that would then beg the question of how to get Ryou back. His dragon form unfortunately didn't have good front-limbs for grasping/holding onto anything (much less a person) and carrying her in his jaws was just downright unacceptable (especially considering his sharp teeth). He wasn't about to get a specialized harness or anything made either – he still did want to keep _some_ dignity.

There was also the matter on if she would even remember Yugi, considering the other had said they had known each other when they were basically toddlers, it was hard to say.

Seto wondered if they were doing the right thing in attempting to uproot Ryou from her solitude.

He sighed and did his best to stay in control of his horse and the one traveling with him for Ryou to use. Both beasts weren't particularly thrilled at the weather and kept snorting in agitation. They also weren't thrilled that so far, the weather had been rather awful for the entire journey. It wasn't like Vilaitsi was conveniently next door to the capital city. Camping out in the rain was far from glamorous but Seto needed to make good time. They could use inns on the journey back – he wasn't about to subject Ryou to camping out in the wilderness.

There were two days left to get to the manor and Seto had the feeling he was going to look less-than-presentable when he arrived, thanks to the weather.

* * *

Ryou, since moving some of her things downstairs for future safety reasons, had started keeping to only a few rooms, leaving ones she normally kept clean to start gathering dust like the rest of the house. She stayed in the one lounge that had become her bedroom, sometimes the kitchen (though she had very little appetite these days and the food supplies were running low, with no deliveries in sight), the small library/study and the bathroom.

She was starting to think that her Father was never returning – perhaps finally he'd given up entirely on his only remaining child.

The cursed teenager couldn't write her letters anymore either, as the ink had been used up and she had no more in reserve. Instead she just sat at the desk, staring at the blank paper and silently crying. The letters had been her last source of comfort and without them, she felt like she'd been completely abandoned.

The dead couldn't write back to her, of course, but it had still been a connection to her brothers, sister and mother that was now gone.

She had no idea that her Father had gone to join them, leaving her truly alone.

* * *

Seto arrived at Vilaitsi in the late hours of the night on the third day of his travels, the storm thankfully having abated, much to his (and the horses) relief. While he was certain he could get to the manor, he did realize what a state he and the beasts were in and a proper night's rest (and clean-up) would be rather welcome. It was also rather late at night and he didn't want to wake Ryou (or scare her as she probably wouldn't expect anyone at nearly midnight).

The local inn was more than happy to take him and the horses (especially as they realized he was a member of the Royal Guard and therefore had to be treated Very Importantly). A hot meal, bath and change of clothes later and Seto was feeling much more human – as human as a dragon-shifter could feel, of course. The horses were being cared for in the inn's stable and the dragon-shifter settled himself into bed to rest until morning.

* * *

Morning brought a bank of light fog rolling through and the city seemed a bit sluggish on wake-up.

"Might I ask, what brings a member of the Royal Guard to these parts? Still not looking for that guy, are you?" the innkeeper asked as Seto sat at the bar having breakfast.

"No," Seto replied, wanting to comment that he was the guy that had been lost way back then, but refraining. "I am here on orders to retrieve Lady Touzoku."

"Oh, everyone will be much obliged for it, Sir. Finally, we won't have to worry about a curse! It's a right shame she's had that done to her but well, it will be nice to not have to fret. Is the property being seized or something?"

"I don't know what will become of the manor," Seto replied as he finished breakfast. "Her Father passed some months ago and she is being retrieved for her well-being."

"A right shame then, about her Father. Good man." The innkeeper shook his head and bid Seto farewell as the shifter stood to leave, shouldering his pack and heading out to retrieve the horses.

* * *

The fog hadn't lifted by the time he arrived at the manor. The front gate was still locked up tight so he had to employ the same methods his soldiers had a year ago, heading around until he found another gate that wasn't locked. The metal groaned in protest as he swung the gate open and he frowned slightly at the state of things – it was clear that no one had been here in some time, evidence that people had probably been more than happy to stop once word got out that Lord Touzoku had passed.

Seto tethered the horses and went around to the front door, having every intention of knocking instead of just forcing his way inside rather impolitely.

He was rather surprised (and a tiny bit concerned) when the door creaked open slightly at the first strike of his fist against the wood. The Captain of the Royal Guard pressed the door open a bit more and entered the foyer, eyes taking in the dust and general gloomy atmosphere.

"Lady Touzoku?" he called out, listening for any signs of life in the large house. He didn't really remember much from the last time he had been here (understandably) and wondered if it had always been in such a state.

There was no response and he ventured in a little more, peering into an open doorway.

The room he was looking into was the kitchen. A couple candles burned for lighting and a dusty window let in feeble sunbeams (the fog outside wasn't helping matters either).

Ryou was slumped over at the table, head pillowed on her arms. The girl was asleep and as Seto's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he didn't like the condition she seemed to be in.

Despite the conservative clothes she wore that hid her figure and covered her skin, he could tell that she had lost weight – her face was on the nearly-unhealthy thin side of things. He moved into the kitchen and examined things – there was barely any food and what was there was starting to go bad.

He wondered if Ryou had been eating things, knowing this. It wouldn't have surprised him, given everything he knew and what he'd discovered himself.

A slight sound of movement and the sharp inhale of breath had him turning back to the formerly sleeping teenager, who was quite awake now and staring at him. He wasn't sure what to make of her expression – was she scared, surprised or both?

"Hello, Lady Touzoku," he said with a slight bow. "Forgive me for the intrusion..."

Ryou pressed her hands to her ears and it took him a moment to realize what she was indicating.

She could not hear him.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...

Also as a point of reference, there is a few years age difference between Seto and Ryou. At this point Ryou is 18 and Seto is 24.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I'm just a simple fanfic writer...

* * *

Ryou watched Seto pace around her kitchen after a quick search had shown to him that she didn't have any ink to write with. He looked agitated and his tail was stiff and twitching as he moved. She assumed he was bothered by the realization of just how difficult communication was going to be.

The girl gazed about the kitchen and then had an idea as she noticed how the dust on the table was layered enough to where maybe they could write a little bit in it. She began to scratch out words with a slender finger in the dust, pleased when it was at least a little legible.

 _The curse has stolen my hearing and sight in one eye now._

Seto had paused his pacing when he noticed what Lady Touzoku was doing and he moved around to the other side of the table so he could see what she was writing. He then wrote a simple message back to her.

 _Yugi wants me to bring you to the palace_.

Ryou frowned slightly at this. She tried to remember why that name sounded familiar to her.

 _He is King-Regent and says he knew you in childhood._

Very faintly Ryou remembered a child with spiky hair and huge amethyst eyes. She had been so young then (three) and as such, her memories of that time were not clear. But she vaguely could recall perhaps meeting another child at that time – he was perhaps five or six at the time? Had that been Yugi?

The girl shook her head to indicate that she didn't really remember if she'd met Yugi before.

 _I also bring news of your Father._

At this, Ryou froze and stared at the words for a moment before looking up at Seto and he felt a bit guilty that he was about to crush the hopeful look right off her face.

 _I'm sorry, but the Lord Touzoku has passed to the next realm. You are the only member of the Touzoku family still alive._

* * *

Sitting atop the horse that Seto had brought for her, Ryou turned to look back at the house that had been her prison for so many years. It was hard to imagine that she was now leaving it – and going to the capital and the royal palace on top of that!

She had to leave most of her things behind – and she didn't much mind, truth be told. She packed a few bits of clothes into the saddlebags on her horse and left everything else to rot with the house.

The Lady Touzoku wrapped her cloak tighter about her body, using it like a security blanket. She wondered what the outside world was like – it had been 14 years since she'd seen it, after all.

The horse began to move beneath her as Seto urged his own forward, Ryou's following along obediently.

She turned away from the house and left it all behind her.

* * *

"I wonder if she'll remember me?" Yugi murmured as he lounged around with his two husbands in their living quarters. "I mean, she was only three and I was six when we met. My father and her father were doing some kind of trade deal and I was told to go play with her. I think she just spent the entire time looking at me like I was an idiot when I tried to get her interested in playing with some building blocks."

While Atemu smiled indulgently at the youngest of the royal trio, Yami had a bit of a jealous scowl on his face.

"If you keep talking about her, as you have for the past several days since you sent Kaiba out, I'm going to start wondering..." Yami grumbled.

"Yugi-dear, I believe you are making Yami jealous," Atemu commented wryly. "And while it is adorable that you've been waffling on about this friend of yours I must agree that you should perhaps tone it back a bit? Jealousy isn't very becoming on our grumpy husband."

"I'm sorry," Yugi replied with a slight pout. "I'm just excited. I haven't seen anyone from childhood in so long, you know..."

The two other males enveloped the smaller in a group hug. Yugi had been a normal person – well, minor nobility, like Ryou. Also like Ryou, he was the son of a very well-known trader/merchant. Unlike Ryou's Father however, Yugi's had amassed quite a debt. He'd attracted a lot of rather shady folk and for Yugi's safety had sent him to the palace, where his grandfather worked as a Senior Advisor to the Throne. That had been when he was ten. He'd met Atemu purely on accident when he was sixteen and by eighteen had also met Atemu's new husband, Yami. At twenty he found himself in a usually un-heard of three-way marriage.

Yugi's Father hadn't been heard from in several years and at this point in his life, Yugi suspected he was dead. (He'd never known his Mother, she had died when he was rather young and he didn't remember her at all).

"They should be heading back at this point, I think," Atemu continued. "It is three days to Vilaitsi and I believe we are now on day five...so theoretically we shall see them tomorrow and you can see if she remembers you."

"Don't forget she's cursed," Yami added in. "And we don't know what kind or what the effect is on her. I just hope we aren't making a bad decision..."

Yugi swatted him with a pillow.

"You know that curses aren't contagious – well, for the most part – so don't start! What were we supposed to do – let her stay there as the house fell down and she starved to death?!"

* * *

The three days of travel had left Ryou feeling weary and as they approached the capital city of Domino, she was beginning to feel rather anxious. Seto was making sure that Ryou's horse stayed right by his and he would look over occasionally at his silent traveling companion to make sure that Ryou was doing alright.

As they entered the outer edges of Domino, Ryou pulled her cloak further around herself, hiding her face. Her limited vision was already picking up curious faces and she could feel the stares. She couldn't hear anything that was being shouted – she assumed there were shouts as she could see people waving to Seto (and her too, she supposed) and their mouths were moving.

Ryou bowed her head, not wanting to see more and didn't again raise it until she felt a light tap on her shoulder and the horse beneath her had come to a stop.

She glanced up and watched Seto dismount, the horses staying put at the Captain strode forward and offered a deep bow to the people waiting on the stairs.

It took her a moment to realize that she was about to meet the three rulers of the realm.

* * *

"Your Majesties, I return," Seto stated as he bowed before the three Royals. "And if I may, I want to give you a word of caution with Lady Touzoku. She is cursed and it has taken her speech, hearing and half her sight from her. When I first met her, she still had her hearing and full vision. Communication with her is going to be difficult. But she is otherwise unharmed and I have fulfilled the duty given to me by the King-Regent."

Seto moved back to the horses and helped Ryou down off the one she had ridden on. The teenager looked even more nervous and as he led her over to the three Royals, she had a rather fearsome grip on his arm.

He wished he could say something to reassure her, but of course that was impossible. She couldn't read lips, much less hear him. She was shaky (with nerves) as she dropped her body into a slight curtsy as a greeting.

The girl didn't expect to find herself suddenly being hugged tightly by one King-Regent, who was clearly tossing away any sense of decorum.

The hug had a very strange sense of familiarity to it.

* * *

A/N: A bit of back-story on Yugi...also, he is 21 at this point with Yami at 23 and Atemu at 25...

See you next chapter...


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own it...

* * *

The man simply known as Pegasus paced in a room in his home, a thoughtful expression on his face. The room was rather creepy, if one were to see it, as it was decorated like a simple throne room, dolls scattered about like puppets with the strings cut and one doll in particular clearly taking center stage.

She sat in a throne, limp like the others but there had clearly been care put into her placement. She was also clearly well taken care of – no dust or faded clothes. Her eyes were closed but she still somehow had a sweet expression on her face.

Pegasus stopped his pacing and turned to face the doll – which, now that one looked properly at it – was not like a usual doll, small and built for a child. No, this doll was life-size, as if created in the very image of someone.

"Oh, my dear Cecilia," he murmured as he looked at the doll. "It's been so long since you left me...I hope I've been finding enough company for you over the years...though it has been a while since someone new arrived..."

He hadn't cast a quick curse on anyone in a while, however. Currently he just had one person to wait on and that was going to take another couple of years. Perhaps it was time to go hunting for some quick converts.

He didn't want Cecilia to be lonely for too long.

* * *

Ryou sat on the cushioned window seat in the room she'd been given, looking out the window. From here she had a nice view of the yard and a little beyond. She could faintly see the soldier's barracks and wondered if Seto was over there today, training the soldiers.

It had been three days since their arrival at the palace and Ryou was still unsure about it all. It was far larger than home and everything was new. She was around far more people and she felt somewhat out of place.

Nearby was a tamed Silver Fang. Currently it served as a guard dog for Ryou, eventually it would also be her seeing eye dog. The beast was currently resting near the door with its head on its paws. Ryou had never been around the creatures before and she was still a little bit wary around it, though the tamed beast had been nothing but gentle with her. The beast also acted as her ears, making sure that she was aware of anyone approaching her.

Lady Touzoku sighed and rested her head in a hand, staring out the window at nothing. She really wondered why she had agreed to come here – it wasn't like she could provide anything of worth considering her condition and she certainly didn't think of herself as important enough for the King-Regent to care so much. She still didn't really remember him anyway.

She was also well aware of politics and it probably wasn't a good thing that King-Regent Yugi had lost his decorum and hugged her like that. Servants and guards would certainly gossip and she was pretty sure everyone was aware that she was someone different and she wasn't sure she liked that.

Having that sort of attention from a Royal was bound to make people think that she was someone Very Important and Special. Someone who perhaps could be used for political gain.

Ryou wanted none of that and she was the type to over-worry as it was. Her brain was running away from her with thoughts about what could be and not about the present.

Why couldn't she have had a nice, normal life? Why did her Father have to go and get her cursed? She was sure if she hadn't been cursed then none of the past many years would have happened.

She stood from the seat, moving across the room to the desk where plenty of paper and ink had been set for her, so that she could communicate with others. She had no idea what would happen when she could no longer see – how would she talk to anyone else then?

The Silver Fang watched her, ears perked up as it heard footsteps passing in the hall outside – probably just servants – keeping a close eye on its charge. The creature had been well trained and took its job as Ryou's protector and future set of eyes very seriously.

* * *

 _Dear Mother,_

 _His Majesty, the King-Regent seems to know me so well. I do not recall him still. I must have been very young when we met._

 _I was told that Father joined you. That means I'm truly alone, doesn't it? I suspect the curse shall rob me of my remaining sight next, if it continues this trend of taking away my senses. I already feel so lost without speech and hearing – what shall this do to me?_

 _I will be nearly completely closed off from the world and I will require so much assistance – won't I be a burden on them, Mother?_

 _I won't be able to write to you anymore either, once my vision is nothing but darkness._

 _At least I have been gifted a helpful companion – I did not know it was possible to tame Silver Fangs, but Lira shall both guard and guide me from now on._

 _Sir Kaiba I haven't seen since our return, but he is Captain of the Royal Guard, so he has duties other than spending time with me._

 _I am already lonely._

* * *

Seto narrowed his eyes as he watched his men running through drills. Flanking him were two other soldiers he had personally chosen as his right and left-hand men to help keep things in order, and they took over his duties while he was gone.

Honda and Jounouchi had been troublemakers and clowns before they'd gotten into the Royal Military (that in and of itself had shocked everyone that had known them). The former Captain had seen something in the two scoundrels and they had gone above and beyond in proving that it was a good decision. When Seto had taken over the role as Captain, he too seemed to have seen something in them and now – despite him and Jounouchi frequently butting heads – the three of them had shaped the Royal Military into quite a force.

"Pick up the pace!" Seto barked as he watched the men doing running drills. "You need to be quick on your feet and ready to move – not casually strolling!"

There were several audible groans from the soldiers doing their training, but they obeyed, no one really wanting to get on the bad side of the Captain. He pushed them hard, but the results were always worth the extra pain and effort.

"We both can take it from here, you know," Jounouchi commented idly. "Did their Majesties want to speak to you about something? Probably shouldn't keep them waiting too long, ya know? Honda and I are more than able to make these guys run off their feet."

Seto wasn't honestly sure what the Royal trio wanted to speak with him about – perhaps there was a new campaign for him to go on? He gave a low growl of reluctance and turned to head to the palace.

"Make sure they don't slack off," he ordered as he departed. "I want to be impressed next time I see them."

The two other men grinned and waved him off and Seto couldn't help but smirk when he heard Jounouchi yell at the soldiers.

"I see you slacking off now that the Captain is leaving – move those feet! You aren't being paid to loaf around, soldier!"

* * *

A/N: It took me a bit to land on a Silver Fang for a guide creature. Most of the Monsters in the Yugioh world that are dogs were a bit too cutesy (and would probably be small-breed sized) or too scary (i.e. outfitted with spikes, armor, weapons...) so I just went back to good ol' Silver Fang.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Nope, I'm not the owner of Yugioh...

* * *

"There have been reports of Darkflare Dragons on the border between us and one of our neighbors. We're not sure if it's Dragons just looking for new territory or if they've been sent over. The neighbor is one we aren't the closest with and of course they aren't talking. I'm aware of what happened the last time you met other dragons, but unfortunately you're the best defense we have against them currently..." Atemu stated with a shake of his head. "I would just rather have them stopped sooner than later as if they get their fires going they can be rather destructive..."

"How many of them are there, Majesty?" Seto asked, brow furrowing. Darkflare were strong dragons and even he would be concerned if the numbers were high – he may have been a Blue Eyes White shifter but he still had his limits.

"Two of them, which is why I'm wondering if it's just a pair looking for territory. Of course, when you were attacked there were only two at that time as well so I'm not sure..." the lead monarch replied.

"I will investigate at once," Seto replied. "Honda and Jounouchi can take care of things while I'm gone."

"Please prepare yourself to leave as soon as possible," Yami piped up. "Let us hope it is just a wayward pair looking for new territory..."

Seto bowed to the two monarchs and departed to get ready.

* * *

Yugi wasn't one for battle strategy or other violent things – he rather liked planning nicer things such as parties or joining in on general meetings. Therefore, he had spent time with Ryou instead of joining his husbands in speaking with Seto. He knew what it was about anyway and didn't see a need for himself to be there.

While Ryou didn't remember meeting him as a child, she had quickly picked up on his general happy demeanor and friendly nature. Aside from Shizuka, a servant who had been assigned to her, and Lira the guard canine, Ryou didn't have anyone willing to keep her company.

Even Seto was rarely around her, but she had suspected that would happen.

She was rather surprised that a Royal would spend so much time with someone like herself – wasn't the King-Regent worried about what people would say or think?

Appearances were almost ridiculously important in court and she could only imagine how much gossip was going on behind their backs.

If Yugi was aware of it though, he didn't seem to be bothered by it.

If anything, given his own former status, he seemed to have gotten used to being talked about.

The two spent their time together conversing – though it was with written words instead of speech.

 _You really don't need to stay in here all the time, you know. Shizuka can accompany you and Lira will stay by your side of course, if you would like to venture out and see more of the castle. We have gardens too that you are welcome to spend time in. I just feel bad if you stay in here all the time._

 _But what will people think of me, Majesty? I can't speak to anyone, or hear them and I can only partially see. What happens when my sight goes away completely? Even if I have help I will be so completely shut off from the world. I don't want to draw more attention to myself than I probably already have just by being here. I'm far from being someone important enough. It's enough for me that there is safety in here. I shall never be able to repay your immense kindness._

* * *

Ryou did eventually venture from her room, though it was at night when she decided to leave – not wanting to be around too many other people. She always left at an hour when Shizuka was asleep and she just took Lira along with her.

She found the gardens on her own as well as some secret passages that she could use to avoid others. She wondered if there was anyone else who knew of these secret doors and stairwells within the palace walls.

Lira, ever dutiful in her task to protect Ryou, was always alert during these walks – ready to defend the Lady Touzoku from any form of danger. While the palace grounds were guarded quite well and the gardens were contained within the walls, it never hurt to be on guard.

Deep in the gardens Ryou found a tiny grove with a fountain in the middle – the perfect place to sit and look at the stars reflecting in the water and think.

Ryou did her best to memorize the glittering patterns of the stars, before the curse robbed her entirely of her sight and she could no longer view them.

* * *

The dragons were tough and Seto could already hear Healer Anzu screeching at him for the new injuries he had suffered. Darkflare Dragons were not pushovers and although these two were just a pair looking for a new home, they had begun a destructive rampage. He hadn't wanted to kill them, hoping to let fellow dragon-kind be, but the two had started to burn down an area and he had to stop them.

Now he had new gashes and the addition of burn marks on his silvery hide. But the other dragons had been deposed of and would not further cause the kingdom problems.

It took most of his willpower to fly home, the injuries aggravating and inhibiting. His strength gave out as he was approaching the castle and he knew there was not going to be a chance at a dignified and graceful landing. He was going to crash.

The large dragon circled in the air, strength fading with every beat of his wings. The limbs faltered and he found himself falling, already making a thousand mental apologies for ruining the garden he was about to crash land into.

* * *

Ryou was not expecting a dragon to fall out of the sky while she sat at the hidden fountain. One minute she was sitting calmly and the next minute had Lira knocking her away from the fountain. Marble fractured and broke, spilling water everywhere as the large body of one Blue Eyes White Dragon landed on top of it.

The dragon roared in pain, struggling to get up onto its feet. The roar of course drew the attention of everyone and the shouting of guards began to ring out through the night air.

Ryou stared at the dragon, laying on the ground where Lira had pushed her down. The canine stood next to her, hackles raised and teeth bared. It clearly didn't recognize that the dragon was Seto Kaiba.

The Lady Touzoku however, did, and struggled up to her feet.

The dragon and the girl stared at one another and Seto gave another feeble roar before collapsing.

 _There is a very strange sense of déjà vu..._ the shifter thought. _We need to stop meeting like this..._

* * *

A/N: A note on the curse – once the curse is in place, it can't be changed or taken back by the caster.

A note on Shizuka: Yes, she's Jou's sister. She is not blind in this story.

See you next chapter...


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own it, I'm just a fanfic writer...

* * *

"You know, you really should stop meeting her like this," Yugi teased as he visited Seto in the infirmary. The dragon-shifter was being treated for his injuries and wasn't too thrilled about being stuck in bed yet again. "That's twice now you've fallen for her."

The pun resulted in a rather strong glare from the injured Kaiba and the King-Regent just laughed it off, too amused by the whole situation to really be bothered. Besides, it wasn't like Kaiba could do anything about it – he'd be pretty much signing his own death warrant if he attacked the Royal.

"You realize that it's pure coincidence?" he hissed through his teeth, a flare of pain dancing up his spine as he shifted in bed. "I was simply trying to find a good spot to land and that happened to be where I ended up. Shouldn't you be more concerned with the fact that I nearly impaled myself on that stupid fountain decoration?"

"I probably should be angrier at the fact you destroyed the fountain and caused a small flood," Yugi replied with a casual shrug. "But at least you didn't land on top of Lady Touzoku."

It actually was a good thing he hadn't landed on Ryou – he would have crushed her to death.

The dragon shifter had burns on his chest and left side and had fractured his left arm. A few ribs were cracked as well and Anzu had not been amused. He was pretty sure she hadn't given him painkillers while she was bandaging everything just to get back at him. She may have been the Healer, but she still wasn't amused to have Kaiba as a patient again considering it had only been basically a year since he'd shown up on death's door.

Now here he was again, bedbound. His arm was braced and in a sling and bandages were wound around his torso. He wouldn't be doing much for a while and hated to think of the progress being lost with the soldiers.

"She was here a bit ago while you were sleeping," Yugi commented while pretending to inspect his nails. "She's been very worried about you. I haven't seen someone wanting to spend so much time with you – other than your brother of course. She only stops by though and stays if you're asleep."

Seto wondered why the cursed girl was interested in him. He wasn't that interesting, truly? It wasn't like they could have a conversation anyway unless someone brought in some paper and ink for writing. Was she maybe just feeling sorry for him being injured again?

Lady Touzoku was just Yugi's old friend. He'd just been put into her life somehow.

* * *

Small feet made a quick tap-tap pattern on the stone of the castle floors. The child rushed through the halls, a frown marring his face as he made his way to the infirmary. Clearly, he was un-amused about something and was also clearly on a mission.

The door to the infirmary swung open at the push of his small hands and the boy padded in, looking around until he spotted the person he was looking for.

Said person had noticed him and was not looking too thrilled about it either.

* * *

Seto wanted to groan at the sight of the little dragon-shifter standing there with his hands on his hips, looking really unimpressed and a bit annoyed. But the elder dragon held his tongue and just sighed a little instead.

"Hello, Mokuba," he greeted, waiting for the inevitable scolding he was about to get. "I'm sorry, you went on holiday from school today and I wasn't there to pick you up, was I?"

"No! Instead one of your dumb soldier guys was!" the child retorted with an angry growl. "And then he told me all the stuff that's been going on that you didn't tell me!"

Mokuba stomped over to the bed and looked up at his older brother.

"I didn't want to distract you from school," the elder dragon replied. "You know it's important that you focus on your studies."

"And what if you'd actually died?! You think _that_ would have me able to concentrate on studying?!" the smaller dragon yelped, clambering up on the bed so he could sit with his older brother. "Really, big brother?!"

Seto let out a low growl, realizing this time he wasn't going to get away from the younger sibling.

"I promise I'll be more careful next time," he sighed.

"I don't see why you have to go do these things alone," Mokuba huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I mean, can't you take soldiers with you?! What else are they doing anyway?!"

"I'm not repeating that mistake," Seto hissed, eye glinting dangerously. "Losing them to wild monsters...I won't do that again! They can't handle dragons anyway, Mokuba. They're just humans."

The younger sibling raised an eyebrow at this.

"At least be more careful?" he commented. "You're all I have, big brother. I really really want you to be careful, ok? I don't want to be somewhere away from you and then find out you're gone..."

Seto would have reached over to pat Mokuba reassuringly on the head, but the arm he would have used for this was the one currently in the sling. He just settled for a slight smile.

"I'll try," he murmured. "But I am the Captain of the Royal Guard. If I'm ordered to do something I must go."

The black-haired child huffed at this. He wasn't happy with the answer, but it was the best he was going to get out of his older sibling.

* * *

Ryou made her way to the infirmary, Lira following along at her side, keeping her charge safe. Ryou had been worried about Seto when he'd crash landed on the fountain and she'd been taking time out of every day to visit him – though she seemed to show up at the times he was asleep. She never had the heart to disturb him, knowing that he needed his rest.

When she entered the infirmary, the assistant Healer waved at her in greeting and quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper before holding it up to communicate with the cursed young woman.

 _Here to see Kaiba again, Lady Touzoku? I believe he's awake this time. Shall I see if he wants some company?_

At Ryou's nod the assistant Healer motioned her to follow and they paused in front of the door. Ryou watched as the Healer knocked on the door and said something, though she couldn't hear anything or hear how loud the knock was.

The assistant Healer opened the door and motioned Ryou in with a smile, handing the young woman the paper and writing utensil so she could communicate.

* * *

Mokuba stared at the girl that entered and his eyes widened at the sight of the Silver Fang at her side.

"Mokuba, close your mouth, you'll catch flies," Seto chided softly. "That's Lady Touzoku."

Mokuba turned to look at his brother.

"She's the one you had to rescue, right?" he asked. At Seto's nod he grinned.

"Mokuba, she can't hear you or speak," Seto warned, knowing his little brother was about to go let his mouth run. "You'll have to write messages to her."

Ryou was looking between the two, a little bit unsure. Biting her lip, she held out the paper and writing instrument, silently asking who the child was.

 _Hi Lady Touzoku! I'm Mokuba!_

* * *

A/N: Had to throw in the kid-brother sooner or later. Creepy curse-man Pegasus shall make another appearance soon...see you next chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

Lady Ryou Touzoku was soon a regular visitor in Seto Kaiba's room in the infirmary. Mokuba had just about begged her (as well as someone could beg through written words) to visit again and Seto – for some reason – had agreed.

The older brother supposed that he was just doing it for the sake of Mokuba – the boy could make friends with just about anyone apparently – and being wise beyond his years, Mokuba often had trouble making friends with those his own age. That and having a famous older brother plus being a dragon-shifter didn't always attract the nicest company.

For Ryou, the social interaction was the most she had ever gotten since being cursed and shut away by her father. Even though she couldn't hear or give verbal replies, it was easy for her to see how happy Mokuba was to have someone else to 'talk' to besides his older brother.

She was surprised that Seto was allowing this and wondered if it was all for Mokuba's sake or pity for her own condition. She was sure that given the choice and without Mokuba present, Seto wouldn't want her around. He also had probably only brought her here because he had been ordered to.

But she kept these thoughts to herself, doing her best to mask her insecurities.

Besides, she only had about three years left before the curse completed itself.

There was no reason to hope for any lasting attachments to anyone.

In about three years she would simply cease to exist as 'Ryou' and be nothing more than a doll.

A toy that was tossed aside when its owner was done playing.

* * *

Pegasus frowned as he looked at his newest acquisition to the little doll-family he was created for his beloved wife.

It was a nice doll – all of his dolls turned out nice, after all – but it wasn't the star attraction that he was waiting for.

No, that doll would still take almost three more years to be perfect and he would have to wait until then to collect her – consoling himself in the meantime with these less-than-perfect gifts.

His prized target was only eighteen after all – though her nineteenth birthday was approaching – which really meant it was closer to two years, though that didn't make it any easier of a wait.

He wished he hadn't made the curse go on for so long, but there was nothing to be done about that now. All he could do was wait and see what it would do in the end.

Pegasus had high hopes that the curse would work – after all, he was rather certain that no one would attach themselves, much less love, a girl like Lady Touzoku. Many people in the kingdom feared curses and he was sure they wouldn't do anything to save her.

Besides, even if someone fell in love with her, she would have to love them back. Or vis-versa.

True love that was one-sided would do nothing to save her.

* * *

Seto spent three weeks in the infirmary, his body mending and bones knitting back together. He was rather relieved when Anzu finally let him go – though she warned him that he would still need to take it easy and could not take on any missions or do more than oversee training for a while more. His broken arm had to remain wrapped and in a sling for a few more weeks.

He wasn't thrilled that he was regulated to the equivalent of sitting at a desk doing nothing, but at least he wouldn't be spending the rest of his healing time shut up in an infirmary room bored out of his mind (Mokuba had had to return to school after spending two weeks with his brother).

Ryou did continue to visit him but it seemed a bit more awkward without Mokuba there to keep conversation going.

* * *

Ryou's nineteenth birthday had her breathing a small sigh of relief at first. She could still see out of her one good eye. The other remained blind. She was still without her hearing and speech as well, as she hadn't expected any of her lost senses to magically return. Perhaps the curse had merely darkened the doll-marks on her skin this time, instead of stealing something else from her.

But it was when she tried to move to get out of bed that she realized the gravity of the situation the curse had placed her in.

Instead of slipping from the bed gracefully, as she did every morning, the Lady Touzoku was met with a rather distressing incident.

She ended up a crumpled heap as her legs had apparently decided that it was now time to stop functioning. She could still feel them and hissed through her teeth in pain as they joined the rest of her body in sliding off the bed and hitting the not-really-soft floor.

Lira immediately was bounding over to her, realizing that her owner was in a state of distress. She licked Ryou's face to reassure her and whined (though Ryou couldn't hear the sound). Shizuka hadn't arrived yet to assist Ryou with getting ready and Ryou was pretty sure that she couldn't get her body back up on her own, considering her legs were literal dead weights now.

The tamed Silver Fang then ran to the door and pulled on the pull-rope that had been attached to it so that she could open it in case of an emergency (something Ryou was rather happy about in this particular instance).

Ryou watched the beast disappear through the half-open door, pushing herself up to where she could at least lean against her bed while she waited for Lira to return with some assistance. She didn't know whether to be relieved or not as she examined her now not-functioning limbs – they were still flesh and blood though the marks were so pronounced around the joints of her toes and around her knees that it would be easy for someone to think they were actual doll legs.

The teenager hated that she bruised easily – already seeing the tell-tale purple and blue marks forming where her legs had struck the floor.

She turned her head back to the doorway, watching and waiting for her faithful furry companion to return with someone.

It was Shizuka and another servant (Ryou didn't know her name) that followed behind the domesticated Silver Fang. Lira sat and watched over the proceedings, panting softly from her run, as the two women worked together to lift Ryou's slender frame from its spot on the floor back to the comfort of her bed. Through gestures to communicate they put salve on the forming bruises and made sure that she wasn't hurt anywhere else.

Ryou didn't leave her room that day – staying put in bed and wondering what this meant. Clearly, she wouldn't be able to just walk around with Lira now, much less still maintain some semblance of independence.

That night, Ryou cried herself to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own it...

* * *

Ryou didn't want to leave her room. Shizuka and the other maid (Ryou wasn't bothering to learn her name, she was too upset at her condition to even bother with it – what was the point anyway?) were now her full-time caretakers and she couldn't help but resent everything.

It wasn't like her to be so bitter – she had clearly managed on her own for many years and she knew that eventually a point would come where she would require help, but it was still a hard pill to swallow and Ryou felt like she was choking on it.

Someone had managed to fashion together a chair with wheels for her so she could leave her room but Ryou was proving to be very stubborn in that regard.

Going out in that chair would mean even more pity and at this point she didn't think she could take it.

* * *

Yugi frowned as he pushed around his dinner on his plate, his husbands sharing a concerned glance between them.

"Dearest, you should eat," Atemu attempted to coax the youngest of the trio. "Or do you dislike the food that much?"

"Lady Touzoku hasn't come out of her room since her birthday, has she?" Yami supplied. "And that has you worried."

"I just thought that maybe some company and getting out of her room would help," the King-Regent sighed. "I mean, she shouldn't need to face this alone, right?"

"I think you have a good heart, dearest," Atemu replied. "But Lady Touzoku is dealing with quite a significant thing in her life. We all deal with hardship differently and she may need the space. She has servants and Lira to help her. Let us give her a little time and then see if she would be more agreeable."

* * *

Ryou lay on her side, Lira next to her on the bed. The cursed young woman was running her fingers through the beast's fur, taking comfort from the action. She had no tears left to cry and felt numb. She'd barely touched the food that had been brought to her earlier – her appetite continued to head slowly towards a point of non-existence – even though it had been set up for her on a little stand right next to her bed so she could reach it.

Lira lifted her head as the door opened and then she put it back down as it was just Shizuka coming back into the room. She just looked over at the bed with a concerned expression but went about her work of tidying up the room (not that it was messy at all) and gathering up laundry to take to the laundry room.

The other servant was currently in the adjoining bathroom, preparing a bath for Ryou. The two had stopped trying to get Ryou to leave her room and the chair with wheels had been taken out – Ryou fought them whenever they tried to get her to use it. They'd given up.

Besides, Ryou was a noble woman and they had to listen if she said no. Even though it was clear to them that she was depressed and feeling rather hopeless about her situation, all they could do was their duties and give her as much assistance as they could.

Lira hopped off the bed as the Shizuka and the other woman servant approached to help Ryou off the bed and into the bathroom. The teenager sighed quietly as she sat up and allowed them to carry her. Truthfully, she was so light that it was a one-person job but they still wanted to be careful with her.

She was important to the King-Regent after all, so they needed to do their best to keep her safe.

* * *

It was a rare time when Seto wasn't busy with his duties as Captain and now that he was mostly on the mend and back to most of his usual routine, he had his hands quite full. The fact that he had a little bit of downtime was a welcome relief.

Seto was quite the bookworm, it turned out. He had read plenty while laid up in bed but that wasn't a deterrent at all for visiting the library and finding more things to read. The library was a rather large space – two stories high with books jam-packed into the shelves.

The Captain recently had taken an interest in reading about different mathematics and sciences and there was plenty of books on the subjects at his disposal. He had a rather brilliant mind and a near-photographic memory.

Pulling a thick tome from a shelf, he turned to find a place to sit and read for a while. Not many visited the library aside from himself on a regular basis, so he was surprised to see Shizuka enter.

The servant girl frowned a little as she looked around the large space, clearly having no idea where to start looking.

She quickly bowed with a squeaked greeting to the Captain as he approached her, Seto wondering why she was here (it wasn't that servants weren't allowed access to education and such, but it was rare that they either had the time or the desire to do so, most of them coming from lower class families who placed more value in work than learning).

"Are you looking for someone?" the dragon-shifter asked, shifting the book his arms a little to readjust the weight.

"I thought that perhaps Lady Touzoku might like some things to read," the servant replied. "She doesn't want to leave her room and I'm not in a place to force her to do so...I worry that she'll get bored."

"She is still in her room?" Seto asked with a slight frown. He was a little surprised at this – considering how attached the King-Regent was to her – that Yugi hadn't gotten her out himself.

"Since her birthday, m'Lord," Shizuka replied softly. "Even though someone made her a chair with wheels so she could get around. She seems so sad, which given the circumstances I suppose..."

"What does she like to read?"

Shizuka blinked at this, a little surprised that Seto was taking an interest in Ryou's well-being.

"I-I'm not sure..." she replied faintly, feeling a little embarrassed. "I haven't seen her ever reading anything and obviously we don't talk a lot..."

"I'll find something and bring it by later," the dragon-shifter said. "You can go back and continue your duties of tending to her."

"I-if you insist, m'Lord..." the surprised girl answered before bowing quickly and leaving the library.

It took a moment for Seto to realize what he had agreed to and briefly a look of confusion passed over his face.

Why was he interested in helping Lady Touzoku?

* * *

Ryou was surprised when Seto came by her room later and very confused as to why he was carrying an armful of various books.

She watched him speaking quietly with Shizuka, having no idea what they were saying of course, and watched as the books were passed from him to the small girl. Seto departed afterward and Shizuka brought the books over to Ryou, setting them on the bedside table. It was a silent declaration that the books had been personally delivered for Ryou to read.

Had Seto actually picked out some books for her?

Why?

* * *

A/N: I think this is the slowest build up to an actual relationship I've ever written, haha! Anyway, see you next chapter...


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

Ryou didn't know why Seto had brought her books, but she had started to read them. He'd brought her a small variety – one was a rather cliché book about a princess getting captured by a dragon and getting rescued by a knight in shining armor, another was a book on local history. A third book was about the local wildlife and the fourth was about gardening. It was the fifth book though that had her intrigued the most – it was a history book about dragons.

She'd never read in depth about dragons – just the bits mentioned in books about fairytales and fables. Sure, everyone knew that dragons were real but up until now she hadn't seen such a detailed book on them.

Ryou pondered if this was a strange way to get to know Seto a bit better. Though with him being a dragon shifter, she wondered how much of the information would be accurate.

Lady Touzoku saved that book for last – she was a quick reader and it wouldn't take her long to get through the different books.

At least they helped her to pass the time.

* * *

King Regent Yugi wanted to facepalm. When you liked someone, wasn't the thing to do along the lines of giving them flowers, not picking books at random and hoping the person would like them? At least, he was pretty sure it was flowers that were the thing to do (the number of flowers he'd been given during his courtship with Atemu and Yami was mind-boggling, to say the least).

Though it seemed that Ryou was quite happy with the books – judging from the fact that Shizuka had told him that Lady Touzoku had seemed to come out of her depressed shell a little bit with the arrival of the books Seto had chosen, and she seemed to be enjoying them – and Yugi supposed that some people preferred those sorts of things.

He commented on Ryou's enjoyment of the books in passing to Seto and had inwardly patted himself on the back at the surprised look on the dragon-shifters face. Perhaps this would encourage the other to bring more to the Lady Touzoku.

Or maybe actually visit Ryou himself and spend time with her.

* * *

The next round of books brought a little smile to Ryou's face – she'd finished all but the dragon history in just a matter of a couple weeks and had just started on that book in particular when Seto brought her more. She didn't see him deliver the books this time but they were waiting at her bedside when she woke up one morning.

She was pretty sure the mathematics book would go over her head – math was never one of her strong points – but would read it anyway. He'd found her another book of fairytales from a neighboring country and a book on seafaring ghost stories.

It was the fourth book however, that had her smiling the most. It was something she would never have thought of and the fact that he'd thought about her future – however short it may be – touched her. Clearly, he wanted her to be able to keep reading, even if/when her sight finally failed her (if the curse didn't take her first, of course).

It was a book that was full of lessons on reading braille. It started out with just letters and then moved on to sentences ranging from simple to complex. Ryou wasn't sure how many books existed that had been translated into braille, but the fact of the matter was that Seto had clearly thought of her and she felt a bit of a blush heat up her cheeks.

She had hardly seen the dragon shifter since moving to the palace – aside from when he'd been injured and fallen onto the fountain – but there was something interesting about him. He was also rather handsome and she did have to wonder why he didn't have anyone fawning all over him.

Did he like her? She wasn't entirely sure but he was at least interested in making sure she wasn't bored, it seemed. But why would he like someone like her – she had such a limited time left before she became a doll and it seemed a waste to bother with her well-being.

Maybe the King Regent or someone else had told him to do it.

The thought sobered her good mood slightly and she bit at her bottom lip, a little nervous habit she had acquired.

But maybe he was doing it on his own will?

It was nice at least, to pretend that someone cared.

Having that feeling with her as she headed toward her eventual end was a small comfort – but a comfort nonetheless.

* * *

Mokuba Kaiba grinned as he darted through the halls of the palace. He was back on another break from school – this one a bit longer than the one prior – and the little dragon-shifter was on a mission. He easily bounced around servants and they just fondly shook their heads at the energy the child possessed.

He stopped in front of a door and smoothed down the clothes he was wearing before knocking on the door and waiting.

It creaked open a couple moments later and Shizuka peeked out, smiling when she saw the young child.

"Hello!" Mokuba chirped. "I was wondering if Lady Touzoku wanted to join me and big brother for lunch! He promised we were going to go eat in the gardens today!"

He grinned up at Shizuka, whose smile faltered a little bit at the question.

"I shall ask her..." the servant started. "I'm not sure she'll feel up to it."

The child frowned at this and pouted, making Shizuka give him a sad-tinged smile.

"I suppose Lord Kaiba didn't tell you? Lady Touzoku can no longer walk and she doesn't like leaving her room. But perhaps since she'll be with you two she won't mind so much..." Shizuka explained.

This only made Mokuba frown more, the child clearly not knowing that Ryou had further been impacted by the curse.

"Can I come in and see her?" the little dragon-shifter asked, shuffling from one foot to the other. Shizuka nodded and opened the door a little more to let him in.

Mokuba entered the room – his bounce now absent – and couldn't help but frown again when he saw Ryou.

She was propped up in bed and he thought she looked thinner than he remembered her being. She was dressed in a pretty red and gold dress with draping sleeves and had her hair up in a loose bun. A book was in her lap and she seemed to be rather engrossed in the contents of it. Ryou hadn't seemed to notice that there was a guest in the room – though considering she couldn't hear and was half-blind, it made sense.

Mokuba followed Shizuka over to the bed as the servant got Ryou's attention and the young woman looked up. Her eyes widened briefly and she offered a small smile and wave to Mokuba in greeting.

The child beamed up at her. Shizuka handed him the notepad and writing utensil used to communicate and he scribbled down a question before holding it up to Ryou so she could read it.

 _Will you come have lunch with me and big brother in the garden?_

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed and see you next chapter...


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't be writing these fanfics...or maybe I would and they would therefore be canon...

* * *

 _Will you come have lunch with me and big brother in the garden?_

Ryou had been rather hesitant to agree – that meant she'd have to get in that wheelchair contraption and that would certainly draw far too much attention. Not to mention the fact that the bedrooms in the palace were not on the first floor, so somehow, they would have to get her down some stairs as well – not to mention the wheelchair. She was pretty sure that neither Shizuka nor Mokuba were able to carry either herself or the chair.

Mokuba frowned a little when he noticed how uncertain about the whole idea Ryou seemed. Shizuka stood nearby with a sad little smile on her face.

The child took the paper and writing utensil back and scribbled another note on it.

 _Please? The garden looks really pretty right now and I bet big brother wouldn't mind if you brought a book to read!_

It was rather hard to say no to a young, pouting, dragon-shifter.

Especially when he added the dreaded puppy-eyed expression to the mix.

Ryou sighed and nodded. She would leave how exactly they were going to move her downstairs to Mokuba and Shizuka.

* * *

It turned out that Mokuba was almost as good as his big brother when it came to persuading people to do things and had goaded a nearby guard into helping them out by first taking the chair to the bottom of the staircase where Shizuka waited with it, and then carrying Lady Touzoku down the stairs (with Mokuba following behind them) and settling her in the wheelchair.

Shizuka had brought a light blanket with her and she tucked it around Ryou's lower half to help her stay warm – although it wasn't that cold out.

She then had to help push the chair – Mokuba wanted to do it himself but he was a bit too short to see clearly ahead of the chair when he pushed it.

The staff were a little surprised to see Lady Touzoku out of her room, much less in the company of other people and actually heading outdoors. She'd been up in her room for so long that many wondered if she had some kind of illness or was dying.

They were careful not to say any of this outloud however – Mokuba was known to have rather excellent hearing and no one really wanted to do anything to piss off the dragon-shifter (much less his older brother).

* * *

Seto Kaiba was a bit surprised to see that Mokuba had convinced Ryou to actually set foot outside of her room. When his younger brother had met him for lunch, the little shifter had quickly spit out that he was going to go get Ryou and had run off before Seto could say anything.

Mokuba beamed as they approached Seto – the little shifter clearly preening/gloating that he'd succeeded in coaxing Ryou out from her room.

The young woman gave Seto a tiny wave of greeting as her wheelchair was rolled to a stop and Shizuka found some things to pile around the wheels to keep it from rolling away (the thing didn't have brakes). Mokuba yelped when he realized that they hadn't actually brought any food for the lunch and ran off to the kitchen yelling that he'd go get someone to bring them a nice picnic.

Ryou blinked as she noticed him running off, wondering what he was doing. They hadn't thought to bring anything with them so she could communicate and so there was a bit of awkward silence – until Seto realized what the problem was and asked Shizuka to go back and get something, he could look after Ryou.

The two sat there in another awkward silence, Ryou fidgeting with her hands while Seto just gazed around the garden.

It was this awkwardness that Mokuba and Shizuka came back to – the child carrying a rather large picnic basket and Shizuka carrying paper and a pen and ink well.

"I hope this is enough food..." Mokuba commented as he set the picnic basket down and opened it. He was a growing child after all and tended to eat quite a bit. Seto just gave his brother a look, a silent warning for him to curb his usual eating habits.

"I must return to my other duties," Shizuka commented as she set down the writing utensils. She bowed to them and returned to the castle.

Mokuba pulled out the plates that had been tucked into the basket and set them out. He and Seto worked to divide up the food equally (much to the younger's dismay) and they made sure Ryou's plate was securely balanced on her lap before they dug into the foods. The staff had set them up with a variety of fruits, sandwiches and fresh vegetables. Mokuba was most interested in the dessert – which happened to be pound cake with a light lemon glaze. He tried to avoid eating his vegetables (they were gross in his opinion) but a look from his older brother had him grudgingly finishing them off of his plate.

Seto was a bit concerned at how little Ryou was eating.

Mokuba wasn't noticing – too busy with his food – but Ryou was just seemingly picking at hers. She'd taken a couple bites of a sandwich and had eaten a couple pieces of fruit, but largely her plate was untouched. The girl was currently nibbling on a few carrot sticks but not outright eating them.

Seto picked up the paper that had been left with them and wrote her a short message.

 _Are you feeling alright, Lady Touzoku? Is the food not to your liking?_

Ryou just smiled faintly and he handed her the writing utensils.

 _As the curse progresses I lose more of my appetite. I can barely eat now without feeling ill. I know I need to but it seems that each day it is harder to do so..._

She offered Seto a bit of a sad smile.

 _I've gotten used to it. I'm sorry if it looks like I'm not interested in the food. I promise that I'm enjoying this and I'm happy that Mokuba invited me to this. It was very kind of both of you, Lord Kaiba._

The elder dragon-shifter couldn't think of anything to say in response. Mokuba remained oblivious to the exchange.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

Mokuba was quite pleased with himself at the results of the picnic in the garden. While he had missed the serious conversation between his older brother and Lady Touzoku, it seemed that the picnic had been enjoyed by all. The young dragon-shifter was especially happy that Lady Touzoku didn't stay cooped up in her room following the event. She instead spent time with the younger sibling – keeping him occupied so that Seto could do his job uninterrupted (Mokuba tended to be quite the distraction as he was a child with too much energy and no real friends to play with at the palace).

The young shifter was proving himself to be just as brilliant as his older sibling, learning braille just for the heck of it to better understand Ryou and finding a book to learn sign-language – it was pretty funny talking to Seto about this one; "But big brother, how will you communicate if the rest of her sight goes? I mean, are you really going to figure out how to write in braille?!" – Seto had actually looked a bit embarrassed at that one and so now the three were learning sign-language together.

The sign-language was about to come in rather handy.

* * *

Ryou came down with a bad fever a month after the picnic. It kept her in bed and stole all the strength from her cursed body. She didn't have the energy to hold onto something to write with, much less write a message.

Healer Anzu wasn't sure if the fever was related to the curse or if it was just a random occurrence. She fretted and fussed over the patient, doing her best to keep Ryou comfortable – it was best to just let the fever run its course; other than the high temperature of her body, she had no other signs of illness.

Ryou spent most of her time lying in bed, sleeping. Extra blankets had been tucked around her for her comfort and Shizuka had been given a temporary reprieve from her other duties so that she could care for Ryou 24/7 while the fever was in place.

Seto made more of an effort to actually visit the girl and had spent the first visit just sitting at her bedside for a little while, watching her sleep (Shizuka and Mokuba – the child was still on his extended break from school – found this to be rather adorable).

She was awake the next time the dragon-shifter stopped by and offered him a very weak smile and a rather half-hearted attempt at waving in greeting.

'How are you feeling?' the Captain of the Guard signed, making sure to do it slowly – they were still learning after all and while he himself had found it easy to pick up, it was still better to do things slowly for Ryou and Mokuba's sakes.

Ryou was too weak from the fever to raise her hand much and Seto waited patiently as she spelled out the word 'Tired' – it was too much of an effort to do the gesture meant for the word.

"How long has she been ill?" Seto asked Shizuka, who was sitting nearby. "A simple fever should be gone by now...shouldn't it?"

"This is the third day, Sir," Shizuka replied softly. "Healer Anzu isn't sure why Lady Touzoku is fevered. We are all hoping it breaks soon and she regains her strength."

Seto noticed that Ryou was trying to sign something and he frowned and slipped a hand under hers – a silent gesture that she should fingerspell on his palm. It would require the least amount of energy from her and he could see that she was on the verge of falling asleep again.

'Sorry to be a burden' the ill, cursed young woman spelled out. 'I have been nothing but a burden to you.'

Seto was about to sign a reply, but by the time she had finished spelling out what she wanted to say, Ryou had fallen asleep.

* * *

Pegasus paced in the room where his beloved wife sat. It was hard to be patient – knowing that his favorite curse victim still had time to go before he could go retrieve her. He had spent so long looking for the perfect 'family members' for his darling wife.

He wondered how the young woman – Lady Touzoku – was fairing. He wondered if she was at the point of strength-stealing fevers. They usually began within the last bits of the curse and were a way to keep the body and the person from trying to fight off their fates.

Pegasus never mentioned anything about the fevers when he was delivering a curse – they just seemed to be something that happened.

Not that he was complaining – it was nicer that they didn't struggle as it made it more likely they would have a pleasant expression on their faces when the curse completed.

He didn't like it when his victims ended up looking like they were in pain or unhappy.

Those victims ended up with a rather awful fate – he threw them into a fire.

He just hoped that his perfect doll wouldn't have to be put into the furnace – he'd waited too long for her to be ready.

Once she was in his possession, then finally he would feel that his beloved Cecilia would no longer be lonely in her eternal state as a doll.

* * *

It was late at night and Seto was woken from his accidental asleep state by a strange noise. He'd been spending the day with Ryou and apparently had fallen asleep – curious that no one had woken him up.

Ryou's fever still continued and it had been almost a week.

As Seto looked over at the young woman, he realized that the noise he was hearing was the cursed girl gasping quietly for air. Her face was flushed and she had a pained look on her face. The fever was rather stubborn and clearly making Ryou rather uncomfortable.

Seto frowned and gently rested a hand on her forehead to see how bad the fever still was. They had tried cooling her down with a wet cloth but it hadn't seemed to help as much. Shizuka and the other servant who sometimes helped out had even tried a cool bath with little success.

Healer Anzu continued to be baffled. This was unlike any fever she had dealt with before. She could find no traces of illness so there was no medicine she could give that would make this any better.

All they could do was wait for the fever to lift.

Seto left his hand there for a moment, sighing slightly as he realized the fever hadn't abated at all. He wondered if this was causing damage to Ryou – surely it couldn't be good to have the body so hot for so long?

The dragon-shifter let his thoughts wander a little bit as his hand began to move, stroking sweat-soaked strands of hair away from Ryou's face.

The girl seemed to calm at his touch and her breathing evened out. The pained look left her face and Ryou slipped into a deeper sleep.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...can't wait for some of the later things I have planned...


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I'm sadly not the owner, I just write these little stories...

* * *

Seto paced in his room, tail twitching behind him and a low growl rumbling in his throat. The dragon-shifter was waging a bit of a mental battle against himself, all revolving around one person who was becoming just as important to him as his little brother.

Seto Kaiba prided himself on not getting too close to anyone, yet this was happening. Try as he might he had become rather fond of this particular human and seeing them in distress made him feel a strange sense of discomfort.

Growling more, the Captain of the Royal Guard had to begrudgingly admit to himself that perhaps his feelings towards one Lady Ryou Touzoku were something a bit more than the fondness of friendship.

* * *

Ryou didn't remember much of anything from her fever – which had lasted just over a week. She just remembered how hot she'd felt and the occasional touch of a gentle hand through her hair. She had no idea who that had been but Shizuka had told her that Seto had spent a lot of time at her side.

Maybe it had been him?

She couldn't help but smile a little bit at the thought – although he seemed to have a gruff and uncaring exterior, clearly Seto was capable of other emotions. He was always so gentle with her and still somehow managed to treat her as a human and not a fragile piece of glass, like everyone else.

Ryou rolled over onto her side and hugged a pillow close, hiding her blushing face in it. What was this feeling? Thinking about how Seto had been treating her had her feeling almost giddy.

The young noblewoman wasn't entirely sure what this new feeling was. Perhaps a strong sense of fondness? It was certainly something more than friendship.

Ryou had long forgotten what love was – so she couldn't even think that perhaps her feelings were starting to reach this level. She had been just a child when she had last experienced anything remotely like it, after all.

* * *

It was easy to see – from the point of view of everyone else, of course – that Seto and Ryou were growing closer. In fact, everyone was pretty sure the two were falling in love, though clearly the two in question had no idea.

Seto used to spend the majority of his free time either practicing fighting skills in the barracks or holed up in the library reading. Now however, he spent it with Lady Touzoku. As they grew more fluent in sign language, the writing utensils and paper had returned to just sitting unused on her desk. When Mokuba wasn't at school he could often be found tagging along with his older brother.

"They make a nice little family, don't they?" Yugi commented softly to his husbands as the three watched the Captain with Ryou and Mokuba in the gardens from a window. "Seto has really opened up since she's been here – and I do have to hand Mokuba quite a bit of credit; he was the one who came up with that initial picnic...and well, here we are now."

"But the fact remains that she's running out of time," Yami commented softly. "From what little we've been able to gather about the curse...and we haven't been able to find anything about a cure. I have the feeling that whoever cast it, they're able to make up a curse on the spot...not your typical spellcaster."

"And we don't regulate spellcasting," Atemu sighed with a shake of his head. "So, we have no clear records of who in the kingdom can do such things."

"At least she's getting to spend her remaining time with others, and clearly with someone who has come to love her," Yugi said quietly. "I just wish I had kept in touch with her, then maybe..."

"What's done is done," Atemu soothed, putting an arm around Yugi. "We just have to support her as best we can, as her friends...and hope that somehow a cure will appear in time to save her."

* * *

'You seem to be recovering your strength well' Seto signed to Ryou as they sat out in the garden. Mokuba was again visiting and was currently chasing butterflies – he had too much energy at the moment to just sit around talking. 'How are you feeling these days?'

'It has been a slow recovery' Ryou signed in reply. 'It has not been as quick as I would like. My body continues to slowly change from this curse so I am not surprised that my strength is not yet fully returned to me.'

'I am sure that with time it will come back' the dragon-shifter attempted to reassure the noblewoman. 'I am sorry that there has not been a breakthrough on what may free you from the curse.'

Ryou just shook her head at this, not signing anything. She had long resigned herself to her fate and was glad that at least she had friends by her side as she faced down the finale. She had about a year and a half to go before her life would end and she would be a doll for eternity.

The white-haired young woman wondered sometimes what would happen to her when she turned fully into a doll. Would she shrink to the size of a normal plaything? Would she remain life-size? What would they do with her body?

She supposed she would be put in a tomb or crypt of some kind – because she would technically be dead once the curse finished its duty.

The two lapsed into a sort of silence and watched Mokuba running around.

After a while Seto blinked as he felt a weight settle against his side and shoulder. A glance over at where Lady Touzoku had been sitting revealed that the girl was leaning against him, using his shoulder as a pillow. She had fallen into a light doze – comforted by his presence and drawn into sleep by the warm sunlight that was streaming through the tree branches above them.

Mokuba came running towards the two and one could hear the proverbial brakes screeching as he came to a quick halt. The child grinned when he saw what was going on, taking a seat in front of Seto.

"Did she really fall asleep?" he asked, ducking a little to peer up at Ryou's face. "Wow. You must be boring, big brother!"

"Mokuba!" Seto hissed, a slight growl to his scolding. "I don't know why she fell asleep. I don't believe that the position she is in is comfortable..."

The younger dragon-shifter shot his older brother a withering look.

"Really?" Mokuba dead-panned. "Clearly she's comfortable around you if she's fallen asleep! Wish you two would just confess already."

"Confess to what?!"

Mokuba wanted to facepalm – he really should have expected Seto to be this dense, but it was still quite something to witness.

"That you both like each other, of course!"

* * *

A/N: After the appearance of the creepy Pegasus last chapter I thought something a bit fluffier would be nice. See you next chapter...


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: It occurs to me that I have no idea how long this will go. 20 chapters in and no signs of stopping yet! Enjoy!

* * *

Had someone told her she would wind up being close friends to a dragon-shifter and his little brother, Ryou would have thought the person insane. She had been closed up inside the Touzoku Manor for so long that she still found it hard to believe that she had Seto's friendship.

It seemed also that Seto wasn't one to form such close bonds with anyone outside of his lone family member, so Ryou considered that she was probably a rather lucky individual.

He'd taught her two new languages – and learned them himself – so they could communicate, even when her vision finally failed and he willingly spent time with her outside of his usual duties.

According to King-Regent Yugi, she was the only one that Royal Guard Captain Seto Kaiba did this with, aside from his brother when Mokuba visited.

Ryou didn't know what made her so special, but it was nice to have a good friend while waiting for the inevitable.

* * *

Ryou's birthday was approaching and those who were aware of the curse were awaiting it with an understandable amount of trepidation.

They didn't know what it would take from her this time, not to mention that her birthday was another reminder of just how much time was left before she became a doll.

After this birthday, she would only have a year left.

* * *

The morning of her twentieth birthday, Ryou's world was completely dark. She lay there for a moment, blinking as if to try and clear it away before the reality of her next stage of existence came crashing down on her.

As if sensing her growing anxiety and sadness, she felt Lira's furry head nosing underneath a hand as if to encourage her to pet the tamed Silver Fang. When this didn't work the creature wriggled her way onto the bed and licked at the tears rolling down Ryou's face, trying to soothe her mistress. The creature hated to see Ryou in distress and was doing the best she could to calm Ryou's growing fear.

Ryou rolled over in her bed, arms grasping and working their way around the canine. She buried her face in the soft fur and wept as Lira kept a worried watch over her.

Shizuka watched the scene from the doorway, her heart breaking at the sight. She couldn't tell what had changed for Ryou but she knew that whatever it was, it wasn't good. Sensing that Ryou needed to be left alone for a while to deal with her grief, the servant girl quietly left the room and softly spoke with a nearby guard – asking him to stand watch for a little while. She would check on Ryou in a couple of hours to see how the noblewoman was fairing.

* * *

"Oh, my darling Cecilia, you won't have to wait too much longer. I'm sorry you've had to wait so long for our little family to be finished. But they only have a year and I'm very certain they won't break the curse I've put upon them..."

* * *

"I'm not sure the reason for her being upset, Sir," Shizuka explained to Seto, who had stopped by that evening to see how Ryou was doing. The two were currently speaking outside of the room in the hallway. "She's been so distraught I thought I would mostly leave her alone today... she's been on the bed with Lira since this morning. I know it's her birthday and therefore the curse has done something but I haven't had the heart to bother her and find out..."

"It's alright," Seto replied with a sigh, running a hand down his face. "I will see if I can speak with her at all."

Shizuka nodded and stepped out of his way, letting him enter the bedroom where Lady Touzoku lay in distress. She then stayed at the doorway, wringing her hands anxiously and watching.

Lira raised her head from where she'd been resting it on her paws and gave Seto a soft whimper as a greeting – the beast clearly as distraught as her human charge. The Captain stroked her head, thanking her for looking after the noblewoman.

Ryou shifted a little and raised her head when she felt the bed shift, indicating that someone was sitting on it. She freed a hand from its near death-grip on Lira's fur and shakily signed out a simple question.

 _Who?_

Seto felt his stomach drop slightly, that simple question giving him an idea of what had transpired on this birthday. He leaned forward and took her hand in his, putting it to his face. They'd started to do this as well as learning sign language so that Ryou would form mental images of someone and be able to identify them by facial structure and touch. As he felt that small hand trace the scales patterned on his face, Seto could see recognition dawning in Ryou's now completely blinded eyes.

That recognition seemed to help her visibly relax and she dropped her hand from his face. The dragon-shifter picked up that hand in his, carefully finger-spelling into her palm.

 _Are you calmer now?_

The girl nodded slightly in response, though Seto could still feel the tension radiating from her body. She may have calmed down, but she was far from alright.

 _Did the curse take the sight in your other eye?_

Another nod and he saw a little shudder run through Ryou's body – the young woman clearly trying not to burst into tears again. He didn't blame her – he couldn't imagine what it was like not being able to hear, see or speak. It seemed like a rather frightening condition to experience.

He wondered what kind of monster could commit someone to such an awful fate. And to have set it in motion when Ryou was simply a child, no less. Now here she was, many years later and in the final stages of what had been a nightmarish lifetime.

Seto shifted his position on the bed and carefully pulled the young woman into his lap. She stiffened at first, unsure of what was going on. He simply held her, remembering that he'd often held Mokuba in a similar way when the younger shifter got upset. Ryou eventually settled and as they sat there quietly, she let the tears she'd been fighting off flow freely.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Not mine...

Chapter warning: This one gets a bit dark, proceed with caution.

* * *

Being trapped in a world of darkness and silence was not only scary, but suffocating. Ryou wanted to believe that this was just an awful dream. But every time she opened her eyes after a night's sleep, nothing changed.

She wanted to hear things again – she was starting to forget what sounds were – and she wanted to be able to see again – she missed the colors. She wanted to speak again – wondering if she would forget how to do that as well, if she had her voice back.

There was also the anxiety-producing sense of upcoming doom – she only had a year left and was nowhere near the cure to her cursed state.

Even Lira's presence at her side did nothing now to soothe her. She refused to leave her room again – too scared of what she could no longer be aware of. Being trapped in this silent darkness was destroying her mind and breaking any of the confidence that she had built up within herself.

She began to wish that the curse would take her before it was due to end, to just put her out of her misery. Sure, she would miss everyone but she felt so hopeless and couldn't see a reason to keep going. Ryou was certain that she was a burden – despite being told that she wasn't.

What good was someone like her in a place like this? She could offer nothing in her state to anyone.

* * *

Shizuka was growing concerned about Lady Touzoku. Ryou didn't leave her room anymore – despite having Lira, herself and others more than willing to help her. The noblewoman seemed withdrawn into herself, hardly signing responses to things spelled into her palms. She had to be almost forced to eat and drink.

The servant girl was getting very concerned and she wasn't sure what anyone could do if Ryou was completely giving up.

To make matters worse, the one person that Ryou responded to best – Seto – had been sent away on an urgent mission with a troop of guards.

It had the potential to be a long-term mission. No one was sure how long it would be before Seto returned.

* * *

In her dreams, Ryou didn't have to worry about being a complete waste of space. She dreamed of when she was a child – when things were happy (before all the sadness had descended on her family). She dreamed of playing with her older siblings and of when her father was smiling and happy.

Though she had been quite young when things were so happy, it seemed that in her dreams the memories were emerging.

In her dreams, she had everything back that had been taken from her.

Her dreams made reality so much harder to face – waking up each morning to find that she was in her own personal hell made her wish that she would just sleep forever.

* * *

Seto growled as he scanned the horizon, the men with him keeping a slight distance, getting the feeling that their leader was in a rather foul mood.

The mission hadn't been going well – they were aiding an ally country in pursuing a small bunch of rebels with the goal of bringing them to justice.

The rebels were good – they knew the land almost like the backs of their hands; knowing all the places to hide and back routes to take to avoid getting caught.

Seto, while he was loyal and happy to carry out his duties, had somewhere else he wanted to be. He wanted to be back at the palace, he wanted to not be chasing bad guys far away from home. He wanted to just change to his full-dragon form and blast the rebels at the first chance he got. But so far, the rebels were always one step ahead and Seto had been specifically ordered by Atemu to not go off on his own. This was a mission where teamwork was key and where Seto himself wasn't the one completely in charge – he had to defer to the commanders of the ally army since they were chasing the rebels in their land.

The dragon shifter clenched his hands into fists – the itch to just transform and fly was growing and it wasn't helping that he was in a bad mood already.

The Captain of the Royal Guard wanted to be back with Ryou – he was finally admitting to himself that she was – aside from Mokuba – the most important person in his life.

Dragons also happened to be creatures who coveted and hoarded – and while Seto hadn't fully embraced those traits, they had sort of changed into a tendency to be very overprotective of certain people. Or rather, it had just been overprotectiveness of his little brother – and lately that had spread to one other person.

Seto wanted to protect Ryou. He wanted to stay with her and try and calm her fears – he just could sense that she was scared in her current state.

It had been two days after her birthday that he had been sent away.

It was now three weeks out with no end in sight and his need to just _protect_ was threatening to undermine the cold, calculating and perfect soldier that many knew him as.

He hated that he was allowing something to distract him from a mission, from doing his job.

But at the same time, there was a growing sense that he didn't belong out here right now – that his place was at Ryou's side.

He just wished he could easily push down all the thoughts that were distracting him from the mission.

As much as he hated it right now – he had a job to do.

* * *

"We have to bring him back!"

"No, dearest. He has a duty to the country first, you know that. You know the old laws – he can't come back unless something has happened with Mokuba. We all can see he is growing close to Lady Touzoku, but they are neither engaged nor married, so we cannot make any exceptions."

"So, I have to watch an old friend waste away and die?! How do you expect me to be so heartless?!"

"Dearest, please listen to Atemu. You aren't the only one who wishes it could be otherwise, but the old laws stand and the Council will not tolerate an exception. Just because we rule doesn't mean we can do things on a whim – there is a process."

"Yugi, I have the feeling that the curse won't let her die except on its terms. She may grow weaker, but I don't believe she will be able to pass before that curse takes her."

"It's not fair..."

"No, no it's not."

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I'm just a fan writing fanfic...

* * *

By the time the tracking and capturing was over, Seto was quite ready to just burst out in full dragon form and fly home, leaving the troops he commanded to find their way home on their own. The urge of his dragon blood to _protect_ that who was precious to him – like a treasure his kind hoarded – was about to drive him crazy.

He knew that he wouldn't feel peace until he was back home, but he couldn't just abandon his troops despite his dragon half wanting to take over.

Seto had never experienced this bit of his dragon heritage to such a degree before. He wished that he'd ended up like Mokuba – the younger shifter hoarded something rather traditional for a dragon; gold and shiny things. It was thankfully kept under enough control so the younger didn't turn into a thief.

"Captain, Sir!" a soldier called out, getting the dragon-shifter's attention. "All troops accounted for, no injuries and ready to travel home, Sir!"

Home – it'd been a long time since such a word meant so much to him.

"Prepare the troops to move out," Seto commanded. "I want to be on the move within half an hour."

* * *

Late night had settled on the castle and Ryou lay awake in her bed. Lira slept next to her – the Silver Fang fast asleep – and the window was open slightly; Ryou could hear nothing but she could feel the slightly-warm breeze drifting over her skin.

She lay on her back, sightless eyes just staring up at the ceiling – occasionally blinking.

The young woman was deep in thought, her mind racing too much for her to find any solace in a world of dreams.

She'd not shed tears in a few days – it felt like she didn't have any left. Lately food and water tasted like sawdust and she wondered if that was part of the curse or if the crushing sadness she felt lately had completely ruined what little appetite she had left.

Ryou sighed and rolled over – she wondered what she would be looking at – she'd lost all sense of direction and orientation when her vision had become completely dark. She could feel Lira pressed up against her back now – the creature still apparently asleep as she hadn't moved.

Lady Touzoku had lost track of the days – things seemed to blend together into endless days and hours when one was without sight and hearing. She knew there were people who helped her do things – and she hated that she wasn't completely independent now – and that Lira stayed almost glued to her side.

She couldn't remember though the last time Seto had come by – had he finally tired of her now that she was so helpless?

Mokuba hadn't been by in a while but she knew that he spent most of his days away at school, so she assumed he was still there and not on a vacation back home.

Closing her sightless eyes, Ryou waited for sleep to claim her and allow her to escape for a while in dreams.

* * *

Seto thought he couldn't be any happier to see the spires of the palace looming in the distance. Though of course, those with him couldn't see the roil of emotions inside of him – Seto was still rather good at keeping up his masks.

The dragon half of him was screeching to be reunited with the one they both had sworn into their protection, but Seto, being the Captain of the Royal Guard, still had to give his report to the Royals and make sure the men were situated back in the barracks.

The shifter let out a slight growl under his breath, doing his best to calm his dragon half for just a little bit longer.

It was strange – he never felt this desperate when away from Mokuba. Was this a different sort of feeling? If it was, he had no way to describe it other than a strong need to protect – a near craze to do so. There was not another word he could think of for it.

The guards scattered to the barracks upon arrival to the palace – only once he had formally dismissed them, of course. Seto himself strode into the palace, ready to deliver his report to the Royal trio and then find Ryou.

* * *

"I see," Atemu murmured as Seto concluded his report, the King sitting back in his chair with a thoughtful hum. "I didn't think it would take so long, so I apologize for that. But our neighbor will be quite happy to have the situation under control and it has improved our alliance, so in the end it was necessary."

"And to come back with no injuries to the troops is no small feat," Yami piped up. "We must congratulate you on that, considering that you were dealing with skilled troublemakers. Your expertise once again prevails. Our ally is probably singing your praises and I assume we'll hear as much soon from them."

"I only did as I was ordered," Seto replied. "It's my duty to serve the country and assist our allies to the best of my abilities, Your Majesties."

"Then you'll like our next order, I think," Atemu stated with a wry grin. "Yugi, as you can see, is absent from this meeting. Our little Regent is with Lady Touzoku, though I believe your presence will serve better. We believe that she does better when you are with her, therefore we would like you to spend time with her, when you are not busy with your duties. She has not done well during your absence."

Seto frowned slightly at this. The dragon half of him was roaring at this – clearly not liking the news that Ryou wasn't well.

"Whether or not you feel the same, you have become something special to her. Go to her, Captain. As she nears the end, perhaps it will bring her comfort to have you at her side for these final months."

* * *

Ryou wasn't sure if it was morning or not – she was just aware of a shift of something sitting on her bed and someone's hand stroking her hair. She felt a blanket being tucked around her body and somehow these actions spoke of safety and reassurance and she drifted off into a deeper sleep – the first since Seto's deployment.

Yugi watched the dragon-shifter, a little relieved smile on his face. It was quite something to see Seto being so careful not to wake Ryou yet still managing to soothe her into a more restful slumber. Even he, being Ryou's old friend, had not been a comfort to the cursed girl.

It seemed that it was Seto who was the right one for these things. It was funny, considering how stoic and anti-social the dragon tried to be – he let all these walls fall down around Ryou.

It was bittersweet to watch – not knowing if either would reveal their (obvious) feelings and save Ryou in time.

* * *

A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying this. For up-to-date info on all fics, please check my profile occasionally where I keep statuses posted. See you next chapter...


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

 _You have more important things to do than to spend time with me. I mostly sleep._

Ryou's condition, since her birthday where her sight had been taken completely, had slowly deteriorated. She had frequent fevers and spent a lot of time sleeping – not having the energy for much else.

It was hard to say if it was the curse, or a result of the young woman giving up and sinking into depression.

Seto hated to see her like this, his dragon half agitated and ready to maim whoever had cursed her in the first place.

It had started as an order – to spend time with her during his downtime from his duties as Captain of the Royal Guard.

Now he found himself _wanting_ to be around her. It didn't matter if she was asleep most of the time – he just parked himself in a chair next to her bed with some books and stayed put for hours. If she was awake then he would carefully finger-spell into her palm and watch as she signed back to him.

 _I do not mind spending time with you._

Ryou wasn't sure what sort of amusement Seto got out of spending time with her – she was too ill to carry on a conversation currently aside from feeble signing and even that took a lot out of her.

The fact that he didn't mind – she wondered if he was telling the truth on that one.

 _If you are feeling up to it, I would like to take you out to the garden._

 _Why?_

 _I think fresh air would be good for you. It is night – there will not be anyone around. I know that worries you._

Ryou had a pensive expression on her face. Leaving her room? In her condition? She was pretty sure that would make tongues waggle. There were some around here that loved to gossip and despite being well-protected, she knew that there were those in the castle that wondered about her and had no qualms of talking about her behind her back.

But if it was night, then there really wouldn't be anyone around. Seto was right about that much, at least. It was also true that fresh air might do some good – or at least it would feel nice compared to the stuffy air of her bedroom.

She nodded stiffly in assent to his plan and felt him carefully slide his arms beneath her cursed body, lifting her up.

The young woman fumbled slightly in moving her arms around his neck for stability, feeling Seto carefully settling her into a comfortable position for carrying.

From her position on the bed, Lira watched the dragon shifter with a guarded expression, making sure that he wasn't harming Ryou. Content that he was and trusting the young man to be with her charge, Lira settled back down.

Ryou closed her sightless eyes and tried to just focus on feeling – Seto radiated safety and comfort and she tried to latch onto that to cover the slight anxiety spike she was feeling about leaving her room. She could feel the slight vibrations as he walked and Ryou wondered what the noises were at the moment – were his footfalls quiet? Was there any sound other than that? What time of night was it – were bugs or birds still calling?

The young woman wished she could hear.

How far into the night were they? Was the sun still painting the sky the colors of a sunset? Were there any stars out? How dark was the outside and how would Seto see where to go if it was too dark? Or maybe he had night vision, since he was a dragon shifter?

Ryou wished she could see.

* * *

Seto carried Ryou out into the garden, his dragon half agitated at how light she felt. He paused for a moment as he felt her settle more in his arms, her head coming to rest against a shoulder. It took a second for him to realize that she wasn't getting more ill, she was simply relaxing – this was a good thing, he assumed.

He wondered if Ryou remembered how things sounded or the hues of different colors.

The night sky spread out above them as he stepped outside the palace walls, footfalls softening as he stepped out from the stone floors to the grass. There was a slightly warm breeze blowing and he could hear the faint sounds of frogs from the pond. It wasn't the season for fireflies, so there were no yellow lights blinking slowly through the air.

Above their heads spread the inky abyss of the night sky – hues of black, blue and purple with twinkling specks of light scattered about. The moon was currently a sliver, heading slowly towards a new moon cycle. There were no clouds this night, leaving the stars easy to be seen.

Seto carried Ryou over to one of the benches in the garden and carefully sat he down, making sure she was alright before sitting down next to her.

Ryou reached out a tentative hand, figuring out where Seto was and leaning against him. She had to admit that he was right – it did feel nice to be out here, outside of her room in the fresh air. She was still nervous to be out, but Seto was at her side which soothed her.

She felt him take her hand in his and then there was the still-odd sensation of letters being spelled out in her palm.

 _How are you feeling now?_

To anyone who would argue that Seto Kaiba didn't care, Ryou was clear evidence that he did indeed have a heart.

The young woman hesitated at this. How _did_ she feel? Certainly, the evening felt nice to be out in and Seto was good company, but she had the feeling perhaps he was asking a bit more of her.

 _It would be nice to see. And hear. I feel good here but detached._

It was understandable that she would feel that way – most of her senses were gone, cutting her off from the rest of the world.

 _I don't think I can remember certain sounds clearly, or even colors although my sight hasn't been gone entirely for that long._

Seto wondered if the sound of silence that enveloped Ryou was all that quiet, or did her brain try to drum up something akin to white noise to muffle the oppressive silence?

Ryou leaned a little more against Seto and the dragon shifter raised a hand, gently brushing hair away from her face – and also checking to see how bad her current fever was. He didn't like how warm her skin felt beneath his fingertips and had half a mind to take her back inside, but she seemed happy and was comfortable, so he made no move to do so. They hadn't been out long anyway and he inwardly hoped that perhaps the evening breeze would provide a little cooling.

It didn't take long for Seto to realize that Ryou had fallen asleep against his side and so he stayed put, wanting her to get as much rest as possible.

He would bring her back inside in a little while. For now, he was content to sit with her, watching the stars as he protected his charge.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own it, obviously...

A/N: This is pretty much a chapter of little scene snippets to move things along a tad. More major plot to happen next chapter, but here's a little break from that...

* * *

The nighttime outings began to fall into part of Seto and Ryou's daily routines. If Ryou was feeling up to it, that is – there were some evenings where she was too fevered to stay conscious for long, and those nights they stayed in her room. They also didn't go out when it rained, Seto not willing to risk her health any further.

It seemed that in this final year – at least, from the way the first several weeks were going – that Ryou would be plagued by near-constant fevers that drained her strength and left her sleeping most of the hours of the day.

It also seemed to be the case that the curse wasn't going to let her die except on its terms – despite barely eating and drinking her body somehow didn't seem to – aside from some weight loss – be breaking down from the lack of proper nutrition. Even the weight loss seemed to stop after a few weeks.

Healer Anzu had all but given up at this point – there was nothing more she could do and it was with great sadness and reluctance that she reported that nothing more could be done – they would just have to keep Ryou as comfortable as possible through the end of the curse.

It seemed that no one was any the wiser on how to break the curse, and many seemed resigned to the fact that it would not be broken in time to save Ryou.

Seto's dragon half continued to be agitated and his poor soldiers bore the brunt of it – the more annoyed and agitated he was, the harder he worked them in drills. While Honda and Jounouchi had tried to step in a little to keep the soldiers from being overworked, even they had to just grit their teeth and bear with it after a while.

It was all they could do.

* * *

Ryou lay curled up on the overly-cushioned window seat in her room, a light blanket tucked around her. She was dozing lightly in the warmth of the sun while Shizuka and another servant changed out the bedding on her bed and did some general good cleaning of the room. Lira was sitting next to the window seat, keeping an eye on both Ryou and the activity in the room. She was even ignoring her favorite chew toy in order to be a good guard beast.

Today was one of the rare days that Ryou wasn't burning up with a fever. She'd even eaten and drank a fair amount – moreso than the past few days, at least. It was certainly a relief to those who cared for her to see that she was at least having what seemed to be a good day.

Lira turned her attention back to Ryou as the young woman shifted where she lay, her position altering slightly but her sleep continuing. Whining softly, the beast nudged Ryou a little, making sure she wouldn't fall off the bench. Satisfied that her charge was alright, the Silver Fang settled back into her guarding position.

* * *

Seto sat with his back against a tree, arms loosely wrapped around Ryou, who was asleep in his lap. Night was again around them and it felt rather peaceful. There was still the faint smell of rain from the light showers that had happened earlier in the day. It hadn't been enough to thoroughly soak the ground and beneath the tree was dry.

Today was another good day for Ryou – no fever to weaken her cursed body. They had spent some of the daylight hours in the garden as well, Seto helping Ryou learn different things through just touch, so that she would be able to identify them. The hope had been that she would be able to form a mental picture in her mind, even if she couldn't remember the hues of colors – at least she would still have something she could "see".

Today Seto had carried the young woman to where they currently were – the tree was surrounded by flowers of all shapes and sizes. They were naturally occurring wildflowers, so he figured it wouldn't hurt if he picked a few so Ryou could use her hands to examine them. The flowers hadn't been the careful work of a gardener, after all.

They had spent hours there, Seto not noticing it growing late until he felt Ryou slump against him – asleep. The dragon shifter had been too focused on giving her flowers to examine and trying to coax a smile from her.

Since when had he cared so much about something like this?

It felt like just yesterday when he'd been the cold, uncaring Captain of the Royal Guard.

But now, here he was with Lady Touzoku, who was one of the few he allowed to call him Seto. When he was with her, he didn't feel like his heart was made of stone. He didn't feel like he had to be so cold or standoffish.

Seto sighed to himself and carefully stood, making sure not to disturb Ryou too much. He carried her from the garden and back inside, Shizuka just smiling in a knowing manner as he set the young noblewoman gently down on her bed.

The dragon shifter watched her for a moment before turning and leaving the room.

* * *

Ryou couldn't remember colors very well. The flowers she had felt during the outing to the garden were shades of grey in her mind, with only the occasional splash of color that she still could recall. It had helped to have Seto spelling descriptive words into a palm, but specific hues had faded from memory.

She could barely remember the colors that made up the dragon shifter. When she pictured him now, it was like an old sepia colored photo, but in grey-scale.

At least she could still remember the brilliant blue of his eyes.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

* * *

"Oh my..."

The Touzoku mansion had certainly seen better days.

Windows were smashed, glass littering the ground. The front door had fallen partially off its hinges and the wood was rotting. Ivy covered the stone walls and the roof had a few holes. The garden was a mess of weeds and overgrown grass. The gates to the property were rusted and the locks rusted so much that they'd have to be broken off in order to be removed – the rust had malformed the keyholes.

It was clear that no one had been living in this manor for quite some time.

Pegasus pondered at this one. Had Lord Touzoku up and moved his daughter somewhere else? He was pretty certain she hadn't died – the curse wouldn't let her pass on before the cruel end, even if someone attempted to murder her – but she was clearly not here.

It wasn't exactly time to retrieve her anyway, but close enough to where he had decided to track her down – just so he would be prepared (he wanted to see if he'd have to get through any sort of defensive system to get her).

It seemed however, that he would not find the answers here, in regard to where one Lady Ryou Touzoku was residing.

Turning from the once beautiful mansion, Pegasus began to make his way to the nearby town he could see beyond the forest.

* * *

"The Touzoku's? We ain't seen them fer years," the Innkeeper said with a shake of his head. "Think I heard on the breeze that the Lord up an' either died or disappeared on one of them trading boats. The girl was taken by the Royal Guard some time ago. You have some unfinished business with 'em or something?"

"Something like that," Pegasus replied, a slight frown on his face. The Royal Guard had taken Ryou? That was quite unusual – was she paying for some sort of debt of her father's?

"Truth be told, it's been so much nicer," the Innkeeper continued. "She was a cursed girl an' that house was probably cursed too. We're all sort of glad she's gone and we don't have to worry no more."

So Ryou was in the capital with the Royals, if he was hearing things correctly.

That certainly would mean retrieving her would be rather difficult when the time came.

But Pegasus was a patient and persistent man and Ryou was the last piece of creating a perfect little doll kingdom (or family) for his beloved Cecilia.

It would take a lot more work to bring Ryou to her final resting place, but he was willing to do so.

Ryou wasn't going to be able to escape from her ultimate fate.

It was going to take some careful planning and perhaps looking into some methods of disguise, but the fact that she was now in the Royal Palace wasn't going to be enough to deter Pegasus from finding Ryou.

There were still some months left before the curse took her. He had time to plan it all out.

* * *

Lady Ryou Touzoku was shaking as Seto carried her from her room for another of their nighttime relaxing sessions in the garden. The fevers had been worse lately and it was only because Ryou had been oddly insistent that he'd brought her outside.

The sound of her panting for breath and the sight of her fever-flushed face and sweat-soaked skin was driving his dragon-half crazy.

Ryou felt awful. She felt hot and cold at the same time. But she still wanted to go outside with Seto, at least the evening breeze would feel nice, she hoped. She didn't want to stay lying in bed where she would be even more uncomfortable.

Seto settled beneath the tree again, a low growl of frustration rumbling in his throat as he tried to use his sleeve to wipe some of the sweat from Ryou's face. It was only a distant comfort when Ryou leaned into his touch a little bit.

 _Are you sure you want to be out here right now? I am not sure this is a good idea._

The faintest of smiles crossed Ryou's face at the words spelled into her palm and Seto felt a tiny spike of worry drive itself into his heart. While it was nice to see a smile from her, he wasn't entirely sure this was a good time to be smiling, with how sick Ryou was.

 _Just for a while. That's all I ask. Just for a little while tonight I want to be out here._

* * *

"I'm not entirely sure how this came about, but she is _actually_ sick," Anzu stated as she stood up from Ryou's bedside. "Well, I have a few guesses on how it happened, but next time her fevers spike so high, _please_ just keep her in bed to rest!"

Seto's dragon half felt rather displeased at being the cause of further discomfort to Ryou, but the Captain of the Royal Guard kept up his usual poker-face expression while Anzu attempted to school him.

"I know it's nice out in the evenings," the healer continued. "But she really shouldn't be carried around so much during the fevers. An open window or even sitting out on her balcony would be enough for some fresh air. Now she has a rather bad cold."

The healer turned to Shizuka, who was standing by looking worried. Lira flicked an ear as she watched the people gathered from her spot at the foot of the bed.

"Shizuka, I'll leave some medicine to at least help temper the symptoms on the night stand," Anzu explained to the servant girl. "Please make sure she takes it twice a day – with a meal would be best. I'm not sure if the curse will make it harder for her to fight off a cold but she should be feeling better in a few days. I've already given her a dose for this morning so she will need one later today."

Shizuka nodded in understanding and Seto stood with his arms crossed over his chest, tail twitching in annoyance. He felt rather bad that he'd caused Ryou to get worse.

At least with the medicine she seemed to be in less discomfort and was currently sleeping soundly.

But she had been so insistent on going outside and knowing her days were numbered, he had wanted to keep her happy. He knew that he should have probably told her no, but the fact that going outside had become something she enjoyed – he couldn't bring himself to refuse her request.

Watching her now, as she lay in bed, face flushed and breathing a little wheezy from the cold, Seto wondered if it had been worth it.

Ryou would probably say it was.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: Not mine...

Chapter warnings: Talks of death and what it may feel like, so proceed with caution if you're sensitive...

* * *

Seto Kaiba wasn't one for dreaming. If anything, he found sleep to be somewhat of a waste of time – why sleep when there was work to be done? He was a reluctant sleeper – he knew he needed rest in order to function but he didn't have to like it.

To wake up suddenly from a dream – something he had once in a rare blue moon – breathing heavily and feeling a sense of unease was unusual.

But here he was.

Moonlight spilled in through the window of his room and the shifter found it unnerving instead of comforting. Normally the pale hues of moonlight were soothing, but this evening they were cause for a small spike of anxiety.

Seto wasn't entirely sure why he was feeling this way.

It took several minutes for the dream – or perhaps it was a nightmare, with how he had woken – to return to his memory.

To remember a dream was a rare thing, apparently, and he supposed the fact that he could recall this one with striking clarity was a bad sign.

* * *

 _It was like he was standing in a black void. It was just him – at least until he turned around._

 _There was Ryou. She was standing behind him – a strange occurrence considering her legs no longer worked._

 _Eerily, she held something in her arms – a doll, looking horrifyingly like a mirrored copy of the young woman who held it. Ryou didn't make a sound but she seemed normal – which was weird if Seto were to think much of it._

 _Before he could move or say anything, shadows enveloped the young woman – who just stood there, staring at Seto, not saying anything – and she was gone, the doll seeming to be just floating in the air._

 _Seto tried to reach for the doll, but the shadows swallowed him up._

He'd woken up then.

* * *

Seto wondered why he had dreamed such a thing. He ran a hand through his hair, certain that he wouldn't be going back to sleep at this point. The dragon shifter slipped from his bed and moved to open the doors leading to his balcony.

As he stepped across the room, his eyes caught onto something on his desk.

A calendar was there and he felt a cold chill run down his spine at the realization this caused.

Ryou had only three months until her next birthday.

When had time gone by so quickly? How was it that they were already so dangerously close to the end?

* * *

Lady Ryou Touzoku wasn't sure how close she was to the end. She couldn't keep track of days and she never asked anyway – what was the point in knowing how close to the end she was?

Ryou wondered if she would wake up tomorrow to find her body changing completely into that of a doll.

Of course, she had no idea if it was tomorrow or not.

She was somewhat glad that no one was telling her the dates or even remotely hinting as to the passage of time.

It was nice to be blissfully ignorant – at least for a while.

Ryou wondered what it was like, to have a curse complete. Was it like dying? How peacefully would she go?

She hoped it was painless. She hoped that it would happen while she was asleep, that she wouldn't feel the breath in her lungs cease or the beating of her heart stop. She wondered if her limbs would grow heavy and if it would feel like a fog was taking over her brain.

Lady Touzoku had too much time to be thinking of such things. But she didn't really do much else other than lay around, or, when it was permitted, to go outside with Seto and sit in the gardens for a while, doing their form of talking.

She wondered if Seto ever thought about the limited time they had left.

Ryou wondered if she would ever decide to tell him her feelings.

She wished that she could actually speak and let him hear her voice – he'd never heard it, after all. She wished that she could hear, wanting to know what he sounded like.

She wished that she could see, if only just to see how he would react to such a confession.

The young woman still felt like he was doing all that he was just out of duty. Ryou wouldn't let her consider that he might have feelings for her as well – she wasn't going to get her hopes up when she knew that her end was approaching.

She would take her secret with her to the proverbial grave.

* * *

Pegasus pondered to himself as he considered what he needed to do. There was the whole matter of getting past a fair amount of guards, for one thing.

Considering these were guards of the Royals and the Palace, he was certain they would be rather top-notch and therefore more difficult to deal with.

Although he was mostly an expert in curses, that didn't mean that he wouldn't be able to grasp hold of other sorts of spells – such as ones that would put someone into a deep sleep.

The only problem with this of course, was that he would have to cast it on the entirety of the Palace staff and guests – and that would be a rather large usage of magic power. He wasn't sure he would be able to master such a thing in a short amount of time.

Magic usage and mastery took many years of practice, after all.

There were also things he supposed he could throw in people's faces – sleeping or knockout magic powders, for instance – but that would require getting close enough and he was sure that once he was spotted, he would quickly be outnumbered.

He supposed he could use a bit of glamour magic to make himself look like a servant – perhaps that would work? The Palace certainly had many of them and maybe there were enough that it was hard to remember just how many or what they all looked like.

Pegasus also considered shape shifting – he could become something small to make his way inside and then something big in order to escape quickly with Lady Touzoku.

Perhaps he would use a combination of ideas – shapeshifting was by far the superior answer but glamour magic could allow him to get closer and perhaps he could use sleeping spells on anyone in the immediate area of whatever room Ryou was in.

Finding Ryou was another task entirely and he wondered how he would go about finding her in a quick manner. Time would be of the essence of course, when retrieving his precious doll.

The crazed man chuckled softly to himself as he thought of an idea – a small bird wouldn't look too out of place fluttering around the Palace grounds. He would certainly be able to peer into windows that way and find out where Ryou was.

The chuckles turned to laughter as he mentally congratulated himself for figuring out a plan of action.

Ryou would soon be his.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: If I owned it...Bakura Ryou would have gotten a lot more screentime. But alas...

* * *

"Big bro, you know a lot of things would just be better if you would confess already," Mokuba commented as he watched Seto pacing. The younger dragon shifter was on his summer break and was a bit tired of seeing Seto and Ryou dodging around one another in the feelings department.

Though, considering that Ryou was in the state she was in, he wasn't entirely sure that she felt how Seto did. At least Seto's feelings were obvious!

"I am going to pretend I didn't hear that," the elder growled. "Why should I tell her, anyway? She'd probably reject me, not to mention she has so little time left..."

"I dunno, maybe she'll like you back? Maybe she'll at least get to go feeling happy?" Mokuba replied, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, I think it's pretty obvious to everyone that you like each other."

"Mokuba, enough," Seto replied with another growl. "I'm not discussing this further."

* * *

It had taken Pegasus some time to sort out what kind of creature he could turn himself into in order to spy out the palace. Something large was obviously out of the question. On the flip side, he didn't really feel like turning into a bug, nor did he think a cat or dog would be the best option.

A bird, on the other hand, was perfect. They came in all sorts of sizes and species and it would be rather easy to find out a common bird of the area.

Sure, it was ridiculously creepy to look into windows to see if he could find Ryou but if windows had trees outside of them – why not take advantage of being a bird?

A bit of research later and he'd chosen the type of bird he'd turn himself into for the spy trip. If this was successful, perhaps he could also use it as part of his retrieval of Lady Touzoku.

Getting in would be the easy part. Getting out with his new doll would be the more difficult challenge.

* * *

If anyone thought it was strange to see a sparrow flitting from tree to tree, then no one said anything. There were plenty of sparrows around the palace grounds year-round, so to see yet another one wasn't anything special. No one paid this particular bird any mind.

Pegasus hopped around the branches of the current tree he was in, acting like he was looking for bugs. The thought of actually behaving fully like a bird and _eating_ a bug was downright disgusting, but at least he could act the part of looking for some.

So far, he had yet to find the room where Ryou resided. The curse-giver was starting to wonder if she was actually being held in the palace.

For that matter, if she was here, was she in a room or in the dungeon – which would be a lot harder to get into?

Pegasus flitted to another tree, fluffing himself out when he landed, looking like a little sparrow that was simply preening its feathers.

He wasn't exactly in front of a window this time but he was next to a balcony – with a set of French doors and windows that looked into the connecting room.

The room was, at the moment, on the empty side. There wasn't a human to be seen and Pegasus puffed up a bit in irritation. He wanted to find Lady Touzoku fast – not spend all his time searching for her!

Besides, he had to get home soon. Cecilia would be worried about him being away for so long – and in the Capital, no less. Home wasn't near this place and Cecilia didn't like him to be too far.

Pegasus was about to go find another tree to sit in, when the door to the room opened. The disguised-magician peered through the leaves of the tree, staying a bit hidden for now – just in case.

* * *

Seto carried Ryou carefully in his arms. She had been too unwell to go outside – a fever taking hold again. A new addition however had been what seemed to be signs of pain and nearly-violent shivering, as if she were too cold. Wrapping her up in blankets didn't seem to do anything to help and Healer Anzu was at a loss – medicine had done nothing to help.

Ryou had spent several days in the infirmary and now she was being returned to her room, Anzu deciding that Ryou should at least be somewhere comfortable and less clinical as the infirmary.

Lira looked up from her position on Ryou's bed, her tail starting to wag and thump against the covers as Seto carried Ryou over to the bed. The tamed Silver Fang pawed at the covers in an attempt to help get the bed ready to hold Lady Touzoku.

Shizuka followed in shortly behind Seto and between herself and the dragon shifter, they settled Ryou back into the familiar comfort of her bed. Lira immediately cuddled up to the ailing young woman, not liking that Ryou didn't seem to be doing any better.

"Anzu has run out of things she can try," Seto murmured softly to Shizuka. "She said it would be best to just have Lady Touzoku stay here – where it's more comfortable and familiar."

The servant girl looked saddened at this. It was clear to everyone that Ryou's days were running out – and no one was any the wiser on how to help her.

* * *

Pegasus fluffed himself up in the tree he was in – this time feeling rather pleased about the whole situation. He couldn't hear a thing of conversation from inside but he at least had discovered Ryou!

His joy turned into a bit of disgruntlement when he beheld the two people in the room aside from Ryou.

The servant girl was clearly no one important and he wouldn't need to worry about her.

But it was clear the other person would be a possible challenge. Dragon-shifters were almost just as immune to magic as full dragons, meaning that the obvious dragon shifter standing in the room wouldn't fall to a simple sleeping spell.

On top of that, depending on how strong the shifters dragon-blood was, it was very likely that he would notice a spell being attempted on him.

Curses were also not really that affective and at most would probably give the dragon-shifter a bad headache. Curses were a form of magic, after all.

Pegasus would have to think of something rather crafty if he was going to take out someone with dragon blood. It was obvious from the way the young man had carried and handled Ryou that he was attached to her in some way.

The magician just hoped that this wasn't a hint that his curse could be broken before Ryou turned into a doll. He'd waited far too long for this!

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

Time was running out.

Ryou wasn't aware of the days passing by – really, she wasn't aware of much these days, too ill. Conversations with Seto were now rather one sided – she had started to rapidly weaken and even just signing something simple was usually too much work.

Most of Ryou's days were spent in bed, slightly propped up by giant fluffy pillows to keep her comfortable. Shizuka and Lira stayed with her, with Seto coming by as often as he could to visit. Even Mokuba joined him, the boy wanting to visit the girl that had stolen his big brother's heart as much as he could before the curse took Ryou away from everyone.

No one really liked thinking about the end.

It certainly wasn't fair, that Ryou's life was going to be cut so drastically short. It was definitely not fair that she was going to be meeting her end with a curse that was going to turn her into a doll.

* * *

Seto sat by Ryou's bedside, a book in hand. Ryou was asleep – she hadn't woken up yet today. He wasn't actually sure she would be waking up at all. At least today her sleep seemed to be peaceful, instead of troubled like it was some days.

The dragon shifter turned another page in his book, glancing over at the sleeping form on the bed. He wondered if Ryou was aware of his presence at all these days. It was hard to tell just how aware of things she was.

A faint breeze was blowing in from the balcony – they'd opened the doors to see if some fresh air would help at all – and he could hear the faint sounds of the castle grounds going about a typical day. It seemed strange that everything was continuing on as normal, yet here in this room it was as if the hands of time were slowing down.

Ryou's breathing was so soft that sometimes Seto had to listen really closely to make sure she was still breathing in the first place. She was ghastly pale now too, skin very close to matching her hair. It was a struggle to get her to eat and drink these days and by now it was obvious that the curse was keeping her going – there was no other reason for her to still be alive, in her state.

Seto still came to stay with her, when he wasn't busy being the Captain of the Royal Guard. They didn't hold conversations anymore but that was alright. He'd become somewhat adapt at reading her (lack of) body language and knew when she was getting agitated or feeling sicker.

He couldn't remember the last time she had smiled, either. It had been a while since he'd been allowed to take her out of the room – her condition was too fragile now, according to Healer Anzu.

Seto's reading was interrupted as he heard Ryou shifting about in the bed and he looked over, wondering if she was waking up.

Instead, she seemed to be in the grips of a nightmare and the dragon shifter put down his book and stood, leaning over the bed to try and soothe the nightmare-stricken young woman.

He couldn't speak to her, but he gently stroked her hair instead, hoping that this would offer some sort of comfort to Lady Touzoku.

She thrashed for a few minutes, face drawn in a pained expression. She even lashed out with one hand, as if Seto's touches were making her think she was being attacked instead of comforted. Seto caught her hand before it could hit his face, worried at the fact that she was reacting this way – and that she had enough energy to lash out, or perhaps it was adrenaline.

Lira whimpered from her spot at the foot of the bed and moved up, nuzzling and licking at Ryou's face to try and help out.

Seto was pretty certain that if Ryou still had her voice, she would be screaming.

For several minutes, Seto worried that Ryou wasn't going to respond to himself or Lira. Her fragile body gave one final shudder and she slumped against the pillows. Immediately he was checking for a pulse and breathing, rather concerned for her condition following the obviously violent nightmare.

Lira whined softly and settled down at Ryou's side, watching Seto make sure that her charge was alright. The dragon shifter couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief when he felt Ryou's pulse and heard her very soft breathing.

He wondered what Ryou had been dreaming about.

* * *

Ryou hadn't wanted this particular dream. She wanted dreams that were pleasant, not nightmares.

She dreamed that she was being controlled by puppet strings – unable to move unless the strings were manipulated. She didn't know who the puppeteer was, but they were taking gleeful delight in making her body jerk around.

She dreamed that they made her dance endlessly, not caring that her body was getting tired and wearing out. She heard laughter, though she couldn't pinpoint the source.

They were clearly taking delight in her discomfort.

She was made to dance on sharp things – cutting her to ribbons.

The worst part was she was made to dance while holding sharp blades – and the puppeteer made her tear Seto to shreds, the dragon-shifter unable to fight back as he was a stringed puppet as well.

Ryou wanted to scream but she couldn't make a sound. Even here in her nightmares she was silent.

The young woman barely registered that there was someone outside the dream – a comforting presence and gentle touch trying to break through the darkness. She could feel another presence nuzzling and licking her, of all things.

Lady Touzoku broke free of the nightmare as the strings were wrapping themselves around her.

* * *

Consciousness fully came back to Ryou several hours later. She could feel Lira tucked against her side and she could feel someone's hand gently touching her hair and face. While she couldn't see or hear, Ryou knew that there was only one person who did this.

She turned her head slightly and felt the touches pause. Instead of continuing, she felt a hand take hers and there was the sensation of someone fingerspelling into her palm.

 _How are you feeling? You seemed to be having a bad nightmare._

Ryou didn't have much energy – the nightmare had taken what little energy she had – and it took her several long seconds to sign a reply.

 _I feel very tired._

Ryou didn't want to tell Seto that in her dream, she had killed him in a rather horrifying way. She would keep that bit a secret and just admit to her exhaustion. Ryou didn't want to worry him further by sharing the contents of the nightmare.

 _Then you should rest more. Lira and I will guard your sleep._

Ryou smiled a tiny bit at this. That was just like Seto, to say such a thing.

She wondered if he could protect her from another nightmare.

The young woman wondered if he could prevent another one like the hellish dream she had just experienced.

* * *

Shizuka was very surprised when she returned to the room later.

Lira was curled up against Ryou's side – both the Silver Fang and Ryou asleep. It was the other person in the room that was the surprise.

Seto Kaiba, stoic Captain of the Royal Guard, was asleep as well. He had his head pillowed on an arm on Ryou's bed, his other hand holding hers in a gentle grasp.

* * *

A/N: Inching closer to the end of the curse...see you next chapter...


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

The marionette dreams continued to haunt Ryou's sleep. She still didn't tell Seto that it was the same dream repeating over and over – she didn't want to tell him that she was repeatedly killing him in her sleep.

There were some nights that Seto couldn't stay at her side, and those were the nights where she was lost in the haunted dreams. Not even Lira's constant presence was enough to chase them away – it was Seto who was the key to helping her sleep calmly.

Days ticked by in this manner and the end came closer and closer.

* * *

The palace had its own graveyard, for royalty and for others who resided at the palace. The groundskeeper shook his head as he and an attendant finished with their task. They were preparing one of the above-ground crypts for a new occupant. The metal had been polished and the grass around the mausoleum had been cut. The door with its newly-oiled hinges would open easily and quietly for when the time came to place someone inside.

"Heard the occupant o' this one is young," he commented to his aide with another shake of his head. "Shame o' that. But at least she'll have 'erself a good resting place."

The metalworker of the palace was working on the nameplate that would be attached before the funeral. That was the last bit missing before the crypt would be complete.

* * *

Pegasus smiled at his beloved wife. He'd tidied up her room and set the other occupants up as if his beloved Cecilia was holding court.

"Oh Cecilia, my love! Soon I will be retrieving the final friend for you. We have waited so long for this day and finally it has arrived! Forgive me for leaving you again for a few days, sweet flower, but I must have time to execute this perfectly."

He beamed at the doll that had once been his darling wife.

"Don't be sad anymore, my love! Adieu for now, when I return your court shall be complete!"

He swept from the room, eager to be on his way and retrieve Ryou.

It had taken a bit of digging to be able to figure out when her birthday was. Conveniently, it was now merely a week away.

It was time for him to sneak back into the palace and retrieve his prize.

* * *

"We're out of time, aren't we?" Yugi asked softly as he cuddled with Yami and Atemu late one night. "Ryou is going to be lost, isn't she?"

Yami and Atemu shared a sad look before turning their attention to the smallest member of the trio. There was nothing they could say that would reassure Yugi that Ryou wasn't going to be lost. There was nothing they could say that would make the upcoming day any easier – for any of them.

"It seems that way," Yami murmured finally. "I am sorry, Yugi. The books in the library have been searched so thoroughly for a way to free her, but alas..."

The two older rulers felt their hearts drop as Yugi sniffled and began to softly cry for the old friend he was going to be losing soon.

* * *

The days crept by for those who were aware, with an ever-growing sense of dread and hopelessness.

Seto took out his frustration on the soldiers – driving them to near exhaustion in drills as he paced and yelled, tail lashing and hands clenched tightly. Jounouchi and Honda did their best to stay out of his way and also make sure he didn't kill the poor soldiers in his growing rage.

Mokuba was back at school currently and he spent a lot of time moping around. He still managed to keep up his grade but it was obvious to everyone that his thoughts were elsewhere.

The three rulers did their best to keep up appearances and go about their duties. Yugi struggled the most.

Yami and Atemu had more experience with masking their emotions and were able to hide their growing sadness much easier than the youngest ruler.

Shizuka did her best to keep caring for Ryou, with Lira the tamed Silver Fang turning more guard dog instead of guide dog. The beast seemed to know that time was running out and she stuck close to Ryou's side, agitated each time a nightmare happened and Seto wasn't there, Lira seeming to know that she alone wasn't any help.

Healer Anzu was distraught – Ryou was such a kind person and yet here was her first patient she wasn't able to save. Anzu prided herself in being a top healer, but it seemed that healing someone fraught with a curse was beyond her abilities.

* * *

The nightmares Ryou was experiencing ended two days before her birthday. She also slipped into a deep state of unconsciousness and no one could wake her. It seemed she would be passing peacefully into the end of the curse – almost as if she were crossing from life into death quietly in her sleep.

Those close to the young woman hoped that it would go peacefully, at least. It had hurt to see her in such distress as the curse had wracked her body with fevers and stolen her strength.

* * *

Pegasus fluffed himself up as he sat in the tree outside Ryou's room, in the form of a little sparrow. He watched people come and go from the room – clearly saying their last goodbyes. He was almost giddy knowing that soon his prized doll would be in his possession.

Pegasus planned to take the form of a mythical dragon in order to carry Ryou away – he certainly couldn't carry her if he was a sparrow!

He'd practiced the sleeping spells – thankfully late at night he wouldn't need to cast it on too many; just that Silver Fang, the servant girl and possibly a guard or two. He had enough magical energy for that.

The problem was that he still had to deal somehow with the dragon shifter. Pegasus was hopeful that the young man would not be in the room when the curse took effect.

His hopes on this were dashed when the dragon shifter sat down beside the bed, looking rather pensive as he took one of Ryou's hands in his own.

The clock ticked down, inching closer to midnight of the fated day.

Pegasus settled himself down to wait.

* * *

A/N: Things are happening! See you next chapter...

A note on the curse – it's not an instant thing. It starts the final form as soon as the clock hits midnight on her birthday and takes several hours to complete itself. Previously I wanted it to start the day before her birthday and then finish when midnight hit, but I decided this way is more fun.


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I don't own it, I'm just a simple fanfic writer.

* * *

Seto Kaiba didn't get any sleep as they waited for the clock to tick down to Ryou's birthday. He sat at her bedside, holding one of her hands in his. The dragon shifter had a heavy regret sitting on his shoulders as he, Lira and Shizuka waited for the end.

The regret stemmed from the feelings he had developed for Ryou over the past years, as she had lived here and steadily declined. Feelings that he would never tell her, even now, at the very end of her life.

Seto didn't see a point. It wasn't as if his words would save her and she couldn't hear him anyway. He wasn't sure she was aware of anything at this point – so fingerspelling them was pointless, in his opinion.

The ticking of the clock in the room seemed louder than usual and the atmosphere in the room was tense and heavy. Sadness crept from the corners like growing shadows and hopelessness seemed to drip from the ceiling.

Seto wondered if the curse would take her quickly – he somewhat hoped so, as he didn't want to see Ryou suffering. He wanted her end to be swift and peaceful.

The clock continued to tick down the hours and minutes, keeping track of the time that was approaching.

* * *

The clock struck midnight and kept ticking away – the clock didn't have any bells in it to announce the hours, but Seto knew it was midnight – for he had been staring at the clock for a long while. When midnight struck he let out a sigh and turned his attention back to Ryou, wondering how quickly she would be taken away.

It was Ryou's twenty-first birthday and the end of her life.

* * *

It started with the markings on her body becoming so pronounced that there was no way one would miss them.

It continued by starting at her feet, her toes turning first and inching its way along. Ryou's face grew pensive and slightly pained, but she did not wake up. Seto wasn't sure what she was reacting to – he couldn't see all of her, as there were blankets covering her body in some attempt at comfort.

Lira whined softly and licked at Ryou's face. The beast was smart and knew that something was happening, but she didn't know how to help.

Shizuka sat quietly nearby, saddened by the sight of Ryou slowly leaving them. She too hoped it would be a swift end – the servant didn't want to see Ryou have to deal with a long-suffering decline.

Outside, Pegasus carefully bided his time. He'd done a lot of practicing on shapeshifting quickly and had also worked on his spellcasting – just polishing it up to speed so that he could quickly subdue the servant girl and the beast.

He'd been rather amused to find that his clothes acted like part of his skin and that he didn't have to worry about losing them when he changed forms. He'd experimented with this as well, tucking things into pockets to see what happened.

He'd been quite pleased to find that he could tuck something into a pocket – such as a sprig of Dragonsbane flower – and the item would act like his clothes.

It had taken him a while to find something that could subdue a dragon. Dragonsbane flower was quite potent and even just the tiny sprig he had would be enough to do something to the dragon-shifter.

Whether it killed the shifter or not, he didn't care. He just needed it out of his way so he could retrieve Ryou. One measly dragon-shifter wasn't going to stand in his way.

* * *

It was three in the morning when Pegasus decided it was time he made his move. The disguised curse-giver hopped down from the tree and kept himself in the shadows, shifting back to his human form.

He wasn't surprised when Lira lifted her head, ears pricked in his direction. The other two people in the room didn't seem to notice and Pegasus smirked as he murmured the sleeping spell and directed it at the creature and the human girl.

* * *

Seto felt the slight prickle of magic in the air and sat up straighter with a frown. His eyes scanned the room – taking in the out-cold-asleep forms of Shizuka and Lira – and not seeing anything else. Something had happened however, and judging from the fact that Lira wasn't stirring at all upon his movement, he suspected their sleep wasn't entirely natural.

The dragon-shifter stood, gently setting down Ryou's hand so that he could look around. He was loathe to leave her alone however, considering the feel of magic in the air.

He had the feeling that there was someone here – and that they had every intention of doing something with Ryou.

The curse-giver was here.

Seto let out a low growl and made his way to the French doors that led to the balcony, unlocking them and pushing the doors open.

* * *

Pegasus watched the dragon-shifter stand, clearly recognizing that there was something amiss. The magician slipped a hand into his pocket to retrieve the flower – he would have to be very careful to make sure that the shifter ingested the plant. It wouldn't do much to just hold the thing up - it wouldn't do a thing that way.

He smirked as Seto moved to the doors and opened them, stepping outside on to the balcony. It took a moment for the dragon-shifter to see him in the shadows and the look leveled at him was far from friendly.

"Who are you?" Seto growled, hands clenching into fists. He didn't much like the smirk on the face of the stranger. "How did you get here?! The palace is heavily guarded!"

"Oh, dear me," Pegasus replied with a chuckle. "Guarded perhaps, but to a magician like myself...this is nothing. A little shapeshifting and some well-timed spells, my boy. I'm no fool when it comes to the retrieval of my dolls. This isn't the first time I've had to sneak into somewhere."

"You! How could you do this?! Undo the curse before it's too late!"

"Dragon-boy, you think it's that simple? The curses I cast can't be broken by a simple undo spell. Each curse has a particular way to break it. But of course, I see you haven't figured out this one. Poor girl, turning into a beautiful doll. I've been waiting quite some time for her, you see. She's my finest creation and I intend to take her with me!"

Seto growled and moved into a position to attack the white-haired man standing before him, wanting to wipe that smug grin off his face.

Pegasus just chuckled and pulled the flower from his pocket, holding it out where Seto could see it.

"I take it you know what this is, dragon-boy? You seem like a smart enough fellow. Attack me if you wish and I'll make sure this plant ends up shoved down your throat. Is it enough to kill you, or will it simply knock you out? I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that."

Seto certainly knew what the plant was. Being part dragon, it was just as effective on him as a full dragon and he wasn't really wanting to die from something as silly as a stupid plant. He at least had learned enough about it to know that a single flower would be deadly.

But at the same time, Ryou's time was running out and Seto knew he had to make a decision and fast. If he wanted to prevent Ryou from being taken away, he had to stop this man.

Letting out a roar that would surely bring anyone running – at least he hoped so; he wasn't sure if Pegasus had put the entire castle to sleep or not – Seto charged at the magician, ignoring the Dragonsbane flower that Pegasus held.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: Not mine...

A/N: Enjoy the longest chapter to date of this one...

* * *

"The heck was that?!"

"Did you hear that?!"

"Hey, didn't that sound like a dragon roaring?!"

"Everyone up and get moving – we have to find out what's going on!"

* * *

The Royal trio all snapped awake at the sound and the following sounds of the soldiers on duty yelling to one another as they tried to sort out just what was going on.

"What was that?" Yugi asked sleepily, rubbing at his eyes. His husbands were already out of bed and striding to the window, Yami leaning out carefully to see just what was going on.

"I don't see anything," he commented, frowning. "But the soldiers do seem to be in disarray about something..."

"I want to know if that sound is what I think it is," Atemu spoke up, already throwing off his sleep clothes for more stately attire. "I've only heard that roar a few times and there's only one creature I know that makes it. A Blue Eyes White Dragon. Which means unless one of those rare creatures is visiting, then it was Seto. Mokuba isn't old enough yet to make a roar like that one."

His husbands looked at him at this – Yugi now fully awake.

"Do you think something is happening?" the smallest of the trio asked, worry knitting his brow. "He's probably with Ry – "

Yugi stopped mid-sentence, his eyes wide. The little ruler jumped out of bed and ran over to the desk, gasping as he took in the date marked on the calendar.

"It's Ryou's birthday. If that was Seto then – "

"Something's happened," Atemu finished. "I want you both to stay here. No arguing me with me – if there's any danger I don't want either of you to get hurt. We can't risk all of our lives. _Stay here._ "

The Royal swept from the room, cape billowing out dramatically behind him as he left their quarters, barking out orders as soon as he spotted the guards in the hall.

"I want half of you here to guard this room and the other half to come with me to Lady Touzoku's quarters! Keep your guard up and be prepared for anything!"

* * *

Pegasus didn't dare let it show that he was annoyed about what Seto had done – that roar would certainly wake up the entirety of the castle – aside from the two he'd put to sleep – and that meant his time was now rather limited.

He watched the dragon-shifter approaching him, Seto taking on a few more dragon-like features in his rage – fangs and claws, to be exact.

Rage however, didn't exactly translate into a smooth assault and Pegasus easily side-stepped the charging Captain, hand still gripping the Dragonsbane flower; he would have to wait for the perfect opportunity to make sure the dragon-shifter ate it.

"Oh dragon-boy, was that the best attack you could do? This is going to be child's play if you keep things so simple," he taunted with a smirk. He watched Seto spin about to charge again, dragon-teeth bared in a show of defiance. "And what happens if you kill me, hm? The curse will complete even if I'm gone!"

His words didn't seem to reach the angered shifter and Pegasus risked a glance inside to see how far along Ryou was in the curse.

* * *

Ryou wasn't awake, but she was clearly in some sort of discomfort. She kept tossing on the bed, though with the covers over her it was hard to see just how far the curse had creeped up. It had overtaken her legs – leaving them wooden and with obvious joints. It was creeping up her hips and stomach now and had started to appear on her hands.

Her breaths were raspy as if she were struggling – and she would be shortly when the curse reached her chest. It would strangle the breath from her lungs and squeeze her heart to a stop.

The clock continued to tick onward, time showing no signs of stopping.

* * *

Guards were pouring over the grounds of the palace and others were running towards Lady Touzoku's room. Finally, someone spotted the fight taking place on the balcony and a crowd of soldiers who didn't know quite what to do began to gather below.

"Captain Kaiba's up there!" one rather bright individual pointed out. "But who is that?!"

"Even better – how did he get past any of you?!" Jounouchi shouted. "Who on duty let him get past?! You'll be answering to this once this is all over!"

The guards gulped at the prospect of having to answer just how the strange white-haired man had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

The first order of business however was to figure out how they could support their Captain in his battle on the balcony.

* * *

Seto kept going with his charges, taking swipes at Pegasus. It seemed that his rage had clouded his mind – more of the dragon half taking over and it wasn't nearly as clear-headed during battle as the human half was.

Pegasus kept dodging however as Seto hadn't really changed tactics and the magician was both amused and getting rather tired of this play.

He knew they had attracted an audience and it also looked like Ryou's room held more occupants – there were soldiers and a person he knew to be King Atemu in the room. These newcomers seemed just as lost as those below on how exactly to help out Seto.

There were too many to waste a sleeping spell on – he needed enough magical strength to change forms to steal Ryou away, after all.

This was becoming rather troublesome.

* * *

"Your Majesty..." one of the guards murmured as they watched the fight out on the balcony. "What do we do?"

"I don't know," Atemu sighed, a troubled look on his face. "To interrupt them right now would be worse than just watching this continue."

He cast his gaze briefly to Ryou and then back to the two fighting outside.

 _But can Seto overcome him before Lady Touzoku's time has run out?_

* * *

Ryou began to sound like she was choking. It was almost a rattling sound, mixed with noises that made it seem like she was dealing with her lungs filling up with fluid.

Her body convulsed on the bed, the doll-like features more prominent than her human ones, at this stage. Though most of the transformation was hidden beneath the bedcovers and her clothes, her hands were now completely those of a doll and already her face was showing signs of the final curse stage as well.

The noises coming from her were enough to distract Seto from what he was doing. The dragon-shifter faltered in his charge, turning his head to look at the girl in distress – his own eyes losing a bit of their madness and rage.

Pegasus seized on this opportunity and jammed the hand holding the Dragonsbane flower against Seto's face, trying to force the plant into his mouth.

Seto's distraction was brief and he let out a growling roar of surprise as his teeth snagged on a bit of the flower, separating it from the rest – and he reflexively swallowed the piece. The shifter reacted violently, claws ripping into Pegasus as he fought the effects of that simple bit of the deadly flower.

Pegasus didn't even get a chance to gloat in any sort of victory before his head was clawed from his body, the life quickly draining from him as his headless body dropped like a rock onto the balcony floor.

* * *

As soon as the coast was clear, Atemu was rushing to Seto – the King ignored the dead body and did his best to keep Seto standing, the dragon-shifter now in a distress of his own.

"Seto!" he gasped as the other fought his grip. "Seto, stop it! He's dead!"

Seto was fighting the effects of the Dragonsbane flower as strongly as he could, though his strength was rapidly leaving him. He pushed free of the King and ignored the other soldiers pouring into the room as he stumbled his way to Ryou's body.

She was silent now and as he let himself collapse beside her, Seto wondered if it was all for nothing. Her face was almost entirely that of a wooden, jointed doll now.

Using the last of his strength, the dragon-shifter pressed his lips to hers.

 _I love you, Ryou Touzoku. I should have told you sooner. Forgive me for not being able to save you._


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

Ryou slowly opened her eyes, blinking up at the ceiling. It wasn't one she was familiar with and her brain felt a bit muddled.

The young woman sat up, finding that she was in one of her old gowns – a pretty navy and gold number – and laying on an unfamiliar bed.

She was surprised to see that she bore no trace of the curse and confusion began to set in as well as apprehension. Where was she and what had happened to her?

Slipping from the bed, she padded softly across the room to the doorway and pulled the door open, peering out into an unfamiliar hallway. This wasn't the palace, that much she was sure of. It seemed more like a normal house.

Ryou could hear voices coming from somewhere and she followed the hallway, going down a flight of stairs and ending up in a spacious kitchen.

The girl blinked at the sight before her, confusion and elation causing a very strange round of emotions inside of her.

Standing at the stove was a woman who she knew right away was her mother. A teenage girl standing next to the woman was clearly an older Amane.

Sitting at a table watching the two were three men – one was her father and she felt a bit of a spike of anger at that one – and the other two she recognized as older versions of her brothers – Akefia and Bakura.

It was her father that spotted her, sending her a beaming smile she had grown so used to not seeing.

"Ah, Ryou! You've woken up!"

The rest of her family turned at that and Ryou found herself enveloped in a giant family hug.

* * *

"Seto, we should get you to Anzu," Atemu murmured, trying to get the dragon-shifter to come to his senses. "You don't look well." He attempted to reach out to put a hand on Seto's shoulder and received a warning growl in response, making him jerk his hand back. "She's not coming back, Seto! Come to your senses!"

* * *

"I must apologize, for all these years," Lord Touzoku murmured as he took Ryou aside for a moment from the rest of the family. "I allowed my grief to consume me and I did you a great disservice. I should have taken care of you, as your father. Instead I buried myself in work and did my best to forget that you existed. The fact that it has taken Death for me to realize how horrible of a father I was to you is no excuse. I won't ask for forgiveness, my daughter. I know it will take more than simple words to ease the hurt I've caused you."

Ryou sniffled, the old ache returning. It was true that words would mean nothing but as she hugged the man who was her father, she thought that perhaps they were a good stepping stone to forgiveness.

"Father, what do you mean by Death?" she asked softly. "Where are we? I thought I was simply dreaming..."

"Oh Ryou," her mother murmured sympathetically. "This is the afterlife, darling. This is where you go when you've passed on."

Ryou stared around at her family, her emerald eyes wide.

She was dead?

* * *

"We've been waiting for you," Akefia murmured as he and Bakura took Ryou up to the roof to sit. Where they were was rather strange – it was just the house seeming to be in a white void though there was some strange sort of sky above them currently turning the colors of the sunset. "Though we've missed you and kept an eye on you, this wasn't supposed to happen yet."

Ryou frowned and turned her gaze from the weird sky to her oldest sibling.

"You're not supposed to be here," Bakura agreed with a nod. "There's someone important waiting for you, right? Death wasn't supposed to get you yet and bring you here. That's not supposed to happen for a long time – not until you've gotten really old. It's boring here and it's going to suck that you can't stay, but you have to go back."

"Why?" Ryou whispered. She could feel tears building up in her eyes. "Why are you going to make me leave? I've finally gotten back with everyone and Father has even apologized for everything – so why do I have to go?"

"There is someone waiting for you," Bakura reiterated. "You still have to tell him how you feel, right? We aren't going anywhere and we'll be here when the time is actually right for you to join us. But that's not right now."

"Mother was only somewhat right about this being the afterlife. This is limbo and we were only allowed to stay long enough to tell you to go back," Akefia explained. "Now that we have, we can move on."

To Ryou's horror everything was being washed out in white – the sky, the house, her brother's. She reached out to them with a cry only to find nothing to grip onto as she fell into a void.

" _We'll see you in the real afterlife. You still have living to go do."_

* * *

Seto was struggling. He'd not swallowed a lethal dose of the Dragonsbane flower thankfully, but there was enough in his system to cause problems. He was still in a semi-feral state as well and no one could get close to him or Ryou without the dragon-shifter trying to attack, despite his very weakened state.

Truthfully, he wanted to grab Ryou and just get away from everyone to somewhere quiet where he could mourn her in peace. Dragons didn't like mourning and dealing with the dead when there was an audience.

But all his strength had been taken when he'd stumbled over to her bed and all he could do now was simply lay there, one hand combing through white strands of hair that no longer felt real. There was no breath escaping Ryou's mouth and there was no blood being pushed through her veins by a steady heartbeat.

Atemu watched, having dismissed the extra guards once they'd cleared the body of Pegasus from the balcony and taken Shizuka away – she'd woken up, as had Lira and the servant girl was being taken to the healer to make sure the sleeping spell hadn't caused any harm.

Lira refused to leave Ryou and her soft whines of sadness mixed with Seto's low mournful growls.

The King turned to leave the room when Lira's whines turned into a different sound – one that sounded questioning.

The Silver Fang had her head up from where it had been resting on her paws, tilted slightly with her ears pricked, as if listening for something.

A moment passed and then Lira was barking and nuzzling Seto, trying to snap the dragon out of the depressed funk he was in.

The visible wood on Ryou's face and hands was cracking and falling away- revealing smooth untouched skin beneath. The ball-jointed doll marks were rapidly fading and her hair began to soften. Her eyes lost that creepy caved-in look and beneath her lids her eyes changed back to normal from glass.

It took Seto a moment to realize that something was going on and he watched, still fighting off the Dragonsbane flower, as Ryou sucked in a lungful of air.

Then she opened her eyes.


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

Ryou's eyes slowly opened and this time, she vaguely recognized the ceiling that was overhead. It was far more familiar than where she had just been and it took her a moment to come to full awareness of where she was.

She felt exhausted – she was a little confused on that one – and her body had a strange ache to it, as if it had just shed a great weight.

The young woman lay there for several long seconds, just getting her bearings and enjoying the feeling of breathing freely.

It came slowly to her awareness that she could hear again – there was the sound of what she assumed was Lira quietly panting next to her – and occasionally making happy little whining noises – and she could hear faint sounds from the open balcony doors – birds and people moving about. The sun wasn't yet rising but with the way the birds were starting to twitter, it would probably happen soon.

Ryou turned her head and her gaze came to land on a very familiar face – one with the most beautiful blue eyes she could remember ever seeing.

* * *

Seto couldn't believe what he was seeing. The wood was literally falling off of Ryou and crumbling to dust.

She was alright?

He lay there, still fighting the Dragonsbane, determined to stay awake long enough to see her open her eyes.

Seto felt so tired, like he wanted to just sleep for days. But he refused to give in, watching as Ryou's eyes opened, revealing their brilliant emerald color – now unclouded. He watched her look around and finally look at him.

Seto lifted the hand that had been playing with Ryou's hair and brushed his fingertips against her face, feeling her soft, warm skin. He felt like perhaps he had actually given in to the Dragonsbane flower and that he was in fact asleep, dreaming that Ryou was back in the world of the living.

Neither of them said anything, both tired and both unsure if this was all real.

Ryou finally found the strength to raise one of her own hands and rest it over Seto's. She smiled softly, enjoying the feeling of his palm against her cheek, thumb gently stroking her skin. He had always been gentle with her.

Seto found that as the quiet minutes passed, he was losing the battle to the Dragonsbane flower. He wanted to say something, but he was still just a little bit in a feral state and combining that with the tired feeling of the plant made words impossible.

Ryou watched Seto, concern turning her smile into a frown as she watched him struggling to keep his eyes open. His hand slipped from beneath hers and off her cheek, landing on the bed between them.

Ryou watched Seto's eyes fall closed and she felt a tinge of panic – though it quickly went away and turned to fond amusement as she realized that he had simply fallen asleep.

She lay there, gazing at him as Lira moved more towards the foot of the bed – the Silver Fang could see that things were alright and she would simply keep guard over the two as they rested.

Atemu, who had been watching the entire thing, had to take a moment himself to see that Seto had simply fallen asleep. He felt it best at this point to leave the pair alone – quietly leaving and setting a guard outside the door to make sure the two occupants and tamed beast went undisturbed for a while.

Yugi would certainly be pleased with the news that Ryou was alright.

He would leave Seto and Ryou alone for now and have Anzu check on them both later.

* * *

"Really?! She's alright?!" Yugi gasped, just about tackling his eldest husband in an excited hug. "Oh, thank goodness... I should go see how she's doing."

"Leave her be, love," Atemu coaxed with a soft laugh. "She's been through a lot and besides, Seto is with her. I don't think you should bother sleeping dragons."

"Is everything alright, truly?" Yami asked. "There were certainly a lot of guards and commotion..."

"I will explain what I saw to both of you," Atemu replied. "And later I'll have Anzu go see Ryou and Seto – just to make sure everything is truly fine. But it is very early in the morning and I am feeling rather tired, and you both should be too. We will rest and deal with everything once we are not risking exhaustion."

Yugi pouted, wanting to go make sure his old friend was alright. But Atemu had a fair point (and he rather didn't want to bother Seto – the Captain wasn't known to be the friendliest when sleepy). Atemu changed back into sleepwear and curled up with his two husbands in their over-sized bed.

* * *

Ryou spent a little time watching Seto sleep, wondering what all had happened. Her memory was foggy at best – not truly remembering the past few months. She would have to ask Seto to tell her everything that had happened.

The young woman could feel sleep prodding at her and she struggled for a moment to move her weary frame, tucking herself against the warmth of Seto's body.

She closed her eyes and let slumber take her away.

* * *

Seto Kaiba, Captain of the Royal Guard ended up sleeping for three days. To the surprise of everyone, Ryou spent almost as much time sleeping. It seemed that the constant fevers she'd suffered during the last stages of the curse had sapped her energy quite a bit.

Anzu had examined both and everyone was relieved that Seto hadn't ingested enough of the plant to do more than make him sleep for a while. She also reassured Yugi that Ryou was fine, she was just exhausted from the former curse effects and some rest would do her good as well.

No one had the heart to move Seto - and no one wanted to mess with a sleeping dragon-shifter anyway. He was left alone to sleep and recover in Ryou's bed, the formerly-cursed girl at his side.

Shizuka was happy she got to stay on as Ryou's personal servant. She was careful not to disturb Seto during the rare moments that Ryou was awake; the servant girl helping Ryou readjust to having working legs by supporting her as she walked a little around the room and helping her to the bathroom to get clean and take care of personal business.

Lira continued her steadfast guarding during the three days that Seto was asleep, smartly turning her guide-dog duties (now no longer needed) into a combination of loyal pet and guard dog.

It was strange for Ryou, after being cursed for so long, to be free of it. It was strange hearing her own voice again – much less anything else and being able to move freely and see clearly. She was happy to have an appetite again and food thankfully now tasted delicious and not like ash.

Ryou was looking forward to Seto waking up. She already knew that she wanted to go to the gardens with him to talk – and so she could see the special places that he'd taken her to during these last few months.

She patiently waited for the Dragonsbane flower to wear off and for the dragon-shifter to return to the land of the awake.

* * *

A/N: Closing in on the ending of this one, I do believe. Thank you for all the support and see you next chapter...


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own it.

* * *

Seto wasn't entirely sure what was going on. He was slowly waking up, coming out from under the effects of the Dragonsbane flower. He felt warm – he could tell there were blankets tucked around him and then there was the strange and unknown feeling of a smaller body snuggled against him.

Had Mokuba arrived? How long had he been asleep? The last thing he could remember was Ryou waking up and then passing out.

Seto drifted to consciousness, opening sapphire blue eyes to a rather adorable sight.

It was Ryou who was tucked against him, and the young woman was fast asleep. She looked healthier than he remembered – her skin had a bit of color to it and her breathing sounded even and deep. Seto brought a hand up and touched her face and fluffy white hair, remembering doing this before he had succumbed to the flower.

Her skin was soft and warm and he was happy to feel that instead of the dry roughness of wood. She made a soft sound in her sleep and cuddled closer – Seto realizing with a slight start that she was fully recovered and therefore what had been taken by the curse had been restored.

He wondered what her voice sounded like. He suspected it was soft and as gentle as she was, perhaps at an alto pitch.

Seto let out a low rumbling noise of content, his dragon-half feeling quite pleased with the situation. His tail thumped a little on the bed and Seto kept watch over her as she continued to peacefully slumber.

* * *

Ryou woke up a little while after Seto. She could hear him making a noise that sounded almost like purring and wondered if that was a way that dragons showed that they were happy and content with the world. She had the feeling it was a sound that he didn't openly let other people hear very often, if at all.

Opening her eyes, Ryou found that she was tucked up against Seto, head nestled under his chin. He had one arm loosely draped over her and she had the feeling of being rather safe and secure.

The young woman shifted a little so she could pull back, sitting up as best she could so she could properly look at Seto's face. His eyes were so pretty – and she was a little surprised to see that his pupils were currently slits; she couldn't remember them being like that before.

"Seto?" she asked softly, wanting to know if the man or the beast was the one in more control right now. She then blinked at the sound of her own voice, having not heard it for a very long time. It was hoarse from not being used and she hoped the curse hadn't damaged it somehow.

To Seto, the sound was probably one of the nicest sounds he had heard – though that could also be obvious bias considering his feelings for her.

"Ryou," he replied softly, the tinge of a growl in his voice. "I'm sorry it took me so long to save you."

Ryou shook her head at this, holding no ill will toward Seto.

"We have both been a little foolish," she answered. "I waited too long to tell you how I felt. I was too scared of rejection and what you would think of someone like me."

At Seto's slightly confused look, she continued with her thoughts.

"I was a teenager who had been alone for years, slowly losing the battle to a curse that would turn me into a doll. I had been abandoned by my Father and I had no ideas of the outside world. I was only minor nobility, certainly no proper match for the Captain of the Royal Guard. I hid my growing feels for you. I planned to take them to the grave with me."

"But then the grave rejected you."

"My family did," Ryou sighed. "I saw all of them – my brothers, my mother, my sister...and my Father. He apologized for everything. I don't think I can forgive him just yet but he truly felt awful for what he had become and what he had done to me. I couldn't stay though, apparently, it's not my time to go for a long time. I suppose I should be happy that they sent me back, but still I..."

"You miss them," Seto finished as Ryou sniffled, nodding in agreement to his statement. "You reunited with them and then were sent away."

"I didn't want to come back, but then when I woke up and saw that you were here and I was freed...I miss them horribly and it hurts that I will have to wait longer, but you are here and I think I can survive a while longer with that."

Seto sat up as well, a bit tired of laying down for three days.

"When we're both properly recovered," he started, reaching out and brushing a few strands of hair away from Ryou's face. "When that happens, I want to court you. I would be a fool to let you go again."

Ryou couldn't help the blush that tinged her cheeks a light pink. She never would have thought that someone would want to formally declare their intent at a relationship by courting her. To court someone was no laughing matter and she pressed her hands to her face, trying to hide the growing red color of her face.

"Is that alright?" Seto asked, a bit unsure what to think of her actions. He was rather socially inept at these sorts of things.

Ryou nodded, not able to find her words – she was too happy that Seto wanted to actually get serious.

Seto gently guided her hands away from her face and leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"I promise, from now on, I'll take care of you."

* * *

After being bed-bound for so long, Ryou found that she was eager to be up and walking again, though her weakened body wasn't quite as ready as her mind was to get up and moving around. She found herself relying on Shizuka and surprisingly Lira – the Silver Fang was certainly large enough for Ryou to brace herself on when she needed the extra support while getting exercise. She saw Seto often – he was bouncing back faster than she was and now that she was alright, he was getting back to his usual routine.

Ryou found that she liked to go watch him train the soldiers and Jounouchi seemed to have taken her on as a second younger sister, much to everyone's amusement and Seto's slight annoyance. Ryou liked getting to see all the sides of the dragon-shifter. But the soldiers were some of the best in the world and although Seto's guidance was harsh, there was something to be said for it.

Seto had indeed started to court her as well, as he had promised. When he wasn't busy being the Captain, he was escorting her around the grounds and doing small gestures to show her his feelings – flowers were common as were little trinkets from his hoard (while his dragon had a more protective-hoarding stance, he had still built up quite a stash of treasure over the years and was more than happy to give bits of it to Ryou).

For the first time in many years, Ryou found herself happy and feeling more positive about her future. She was sure that given time, the curse and all its sadness would become a faint memory.

* * *

A/N: See you next chapter...


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it...

* * *

Ryou's laugh, Seto decided, was one of the loveliest sounds he'd heard. As the days passed from her day of rescue, Ryou was growing in strength and opening up more to everyone. She was patient with Yugi's clinginess (she still didn't remember meeting him as a child – some of her memories were still foggy), Mokuba adored her (this was very important, that the little brother approved of her being with Seto), and there didn't seem to be a mean bone in her body.

There was of course the general castle gossip – she was a minor noble, how had she attracted Seto Kaiba of all people? Did you see how close she is to the King-Regent – the nerve! – and the like. If she heard the gossip, Ryou seemed to brush it off her shoulders. She seemed too happy with being curse-free to really be bothered by what others thought of her.

There was strength in that, Seto thought. Ryou was the quiet strong type. She was graceful and despite being shut up for the majority of her life, she was adjusting quickly to the court and all its silly social customs and hidden rules.

Ryou had spent her years alone reading all the books in her house, soaking up knowledge that she seemed to have retained well. She had studied all sorts of subjects and Seto enjoyed just sitting with her and listening to her rambles about various subjects she had read about.

While she had never been to formal court gatherings before, it hadn't taken long for her to adjust and Seto kept by her side, protecting the one he was fond of. Ryou's poise and the way she carried herself made it seem like she was not a newcomer to the court.

Everyone seemed to know that Ryou was off-limits, if the glowering dragon-shifter next to her (almost constantly) was any indication. That didn't mean that there were no jealous whispers from those who thought they were better suited to be courted by the Captain of the Royal Guard.

* * *

Ryou hummed softly to herself as she browsed around the massive library that the palace held. Seto was busy with his duties and everyone else was busy as well. Ryou had found that not many took advantage of having such a well-stocked library and that she could get away from the gossip and judging looks.

Ryou pulled out a book from the shelf, taking it with her over to a nearby couch. She liked the couches here too – they were overstuffed and ridiculously comfortable to curl up in. Some of them even had small throw blankets for extra comfort.

The young woman settled into one of the fluffy couches, opening the book to start reading as soon as she was settled. She was comfortable enough to not need the throw blanket that was draped over the back and left it where it was.

The library was nice and quiet, no sounds from the outside leaking in through the walls. It was a nice, calm escape from the general hustle-and-bustle of the palace daily life.

* * *

Seto knew exactly where he would find Ryou. He had finished his duties for the day and he wanted to escort his chosen to dinner – there was a large-scale dinner this evening, with all of the court in attendance. It wasn't an overly former affair, which he preferred honestly.

The dragon-shifter walked through the halls of the palace, done with his duties as Captain for the day. His inner dragon was a bit anxious today and it outwardly showed in the twitching of the end of his tail. Seto wasn't sure why the anxious feelings were there. Perhaps his dragon had been missing Ryou all day?

Approaching the doors of the library, Seto paused before them and set his hands on the wood. A gentle push and they were creaking open, revealing the rows of shelves and two-story level of the library. The shifter strode inside, checking for Ryou.

Peeking around corners and peering over the backs of the scattered couches, Seto found the young woman in a back corner, next to a bank of tall windows.

Alone, with no one else to see him, the shifter couldn't help but smile a little bit at the sight.

Ryou had fallen asleep – warmed by the sun coming through the windows and from the comfort of the overstuffed couch. The book lay open on the floor beside the couch, having fallen from Ryou's fingers when she had drifted into slumber.

Seto bent and picked up the book, setting it up on a nearby small table. He knelt down beside the couch, reaching out and gently brushing his fingers over Ryou's cheek. She made a small noise in her sleep but didn't wake up. The young woman shifted a little, snuggling a bit more into the couch cushions.

A glance at one of the grandfather clocks in the room told Seto he had a bit of time to let her rest. He settled down beside the couch to guard her as she napped.

It was well past dinner when the two were discovered – Ryou still asleep and Seto asleep – by a guard who had been sent to look for them after they hadn't shown up at dinner.

Gossip the next day would certainly be interesting.

* * *

Courting was certainly an interesting affair. Sure, Ryou had read about it in romance novels (and granted they had been pretty trashy romance novels), but that didn't compare of course to experiencing it personally. She had quite the collection of little trinkets and baubles – it didn't matter how silly or weird it looked, she treasured them all as they were little signs of devotion and love from Seto – and her room almost constantly smelled like roses from the frequent gifts of flowers.

She loved it though and made sure that Seto was aware of how much it all meant to her – she wanted him to know that she appreciated each little gesture (especially since for the most part he wasn't overly romantic) and to get a rare, true smile from him was certainly a blessing in and of itself.

Somehow, even though she knew he was giving her things daily as part of courting, she was still always surprised by whatever he managed to bring her.

The practice of courting differed from person to person in how long they decided to do it before proposing. Seto seemed to be the type in it for a semi-long haul, but Ryou didn't mind. It was giving them a chance to better know and understand one another and it gave Ryou time to continue re-adjusting to life without the curse.

She was looking forward to the day though, when he decided to make things more official than just the declaration of intent with courting.

* * *

A/N: I think we've got about 3 chapters left...well, 2 chapters and an epilogue. Thanks so much for sticking with it and see you next chapter...


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: Not mine...

A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it...

* * *

Seto Kaiba was not amused.

Today was the perfect day for a proposal and he had gotten a rather nice ring made, had a whole speech planned out and knew exactly where he was going to ask Ryou. He'd even made a point to dress rather nicely – a tailored vest with golden chain adornments covered a cleanly pressed white dress shirt. Dark slacks covered his legs and he'd cleaned up his best pair of boots.

The only problem was that today seemed to be the day that _everyone_ needed him urgently for something, and the dragon shifter was getting rather annoyed and agitated. He hadn't even gotten to see Ryou at all yet and the day was half-over!

Stalking down the hall, tail twitching in agitation, Seto had to remind himself that he couldn't lightly maim the next person who pulled him away from his mission – that wouldn't go over too well and would be a bit of an overreaction.

Currently he was trying to locate where Ryou was – she wasn't in the library and although he'd been stopped quite frequently along the way, he couldn't find her anywhere else in the palace. Which meant that she was either in the gardens or her room.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm his agitated state – he didn't want to appear angry to Ryou – the dragon shifter stopped in front of her room and politely knocked on the door.

* * *

Ryou blinked at the sound of the knock on her door and Lira began wagging her tail, as if knowing who was on the other side. Shizuka went to open the door and the beast gave a happy growl-bark at the sight of Seto, bounding off from her spot on the bed to go greet him. Since she didn't have to be a guide dog anymore, Lira had happily embraced being a pet and occasional guard-beast.

"Lira!" Shizuka scolded as she grabbed the creature's collar to prevent her from jumping up on Seto. "A-apologies, Sir Kaiba!"

Seto frowned at Lira's new behaviors and made a mental note to have her re-trained in obedience as she clearly needed it.

"I assume you wish to see Lady Ryou?" the servant girl asked as she pulled Lira away. "Lira, stop it!"

"I thought perhaps she would like to join me in a walk in the gardens," Seto replied, glancing over to where Ryou sat by a window of her room – a book held in her hands. "That is, if she wouldn't be bothered by it."

Ryou smiled and set the book down, standing from the chair and brushing non-existent dust and wrinkles from the pale lilac skirt of her dress. She'd been rather fond of pastel shades lately instead of the usual navy blue or wine red.

Lira wagged her tail rapidly, having recognized the word 'walk' and wanting to go along. Ryou giggled and gave the dog-like creature a pat on the head before settling her hand on Seto's offered arm and strolling away.

"I'll take you out later, Lira," Shizuka promised as the Silver Fang let out a soft whine. "I think Sir Kaiba and Lady Ryou need a moment to themselves."

* * *

Seto wondered if Ryou could tell how nervous he was as they walked (thankfully uninterrupted) to the gardens of the palace. The ring sat tucked in a small pocket of his vest and he was doing his best to keep his tail from twitching too much and thus giving away his slight anxiety.

Proposing was a rather big deal, even for a stoic dragon-shifter, after all.

Ryou seemed to just be happy to be with him and if she noticed any indication of nervous behavior, she kept it to herself.

As they walked through the gardens, meandering along the curving paths, it seemed they didn't really have a destination in mind.

Gradually they arrived at a small clearing, where a familiar object greeted them.

"Oh, they did fix it up," Ryou murmured, removing her hand from Seto's arm to go look at the fountain – once crushed by the bulk of a Blue Eyes White Dragon. "I was wondering what had happened to it..." She took a seat on the edge, dipping her fingers into the clear water and giggling at the fish that came to get a curious nibble – there hadn't been goldfish in the fountain before and they made a nice touch.

Seto took a moment to just observe Ryou – she seemed extra beautiful today, though that could have been due to the extra emotions rushing through his normally calm mind. She'd kept her hair loose today, a lilac bow in her hair keeping some of it away from her face. Ryou was fully recovered – her strength back to normal and her body had long stopped looking sickly and frail.

The dragon-shifter couldn't think of any reason why he wouldn't ask her a rather important question. Ryou Touzoku was the person he wanted to marry.

Slipping the ring from the pocket it was resting in, Seto approached Ryou, the simple yet rather meaningful piece of jewelry held firmly in one hand.

* * *

Ryou sat up a little as Seto approached her, taking her fingers from the water of the fountain pool and giving them a little shake to dry them off. The young woman turned to face the other and blinked in a mix of surprise and confusion when he dropped to one knee in front of her, reaching out and taking her left hand.

"Lady Ryou Touzoku," the dragon-shifter began. "We have certainly had a rather different and strange relationship than most. From the way we met, nothing has been ordinary for the two of us. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of the situation we found ourselves in. I didn't think we would keep meeting one another – surely fate has had a hand in this, if we choose to believe such things. I will always regret that I couldn't protect and save you sooner. Because of my folly you had to suffer long than was far necessary. But today I want to make you a promise, Lady Touzoku. I will henceforth protect you to the best of my ability, letting no further thing – may it beast, curse or misfortune – harm you. Let me spend a lifetime making up for everything I missed and should have done."

As it dawned on her where this was going, Ryou could find no words. She pressed her other hand to her mouth, as if trying to restrain the huge smile threatening to come forth. The young woman could feel tears budding in her eyes and they spilled over as Seto presented the ring.

The ring was a beautiful work of art – a simple silver band with five stones set into it. A small diamond in the center, an emerald on either side and then a sapphire on each end of the row of gems. Ryou recognized that the gems had been chosen particularly to represent the color of her and Seto's eyes. It was perfect.

"Lady Ryou Touzoku, will you do me the greatest honor of being my wife? Will you stay by my side through eternity and into the next life?"

The words still wouldn't come and instead Ryou nodded, dropping the hand from her mouth as she leaned forward to meet Seto in a sweet kiss – the dragon-shifter sliding the ring into place on her finger.

The kiss spoke volumes the word that Ryou couldn't vocalize – the formerly cursed young woman too happy to make a sound.

 _Yes._


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: Not mine...

* * *

When the official announcement was made that Captain of the Royal Guard, Seto Kaiba, was going to marry minor noble Lady Ryou Touzoku, the responses were rather mixed. While most were happy for the young couple, there were a few who continued to think that Ryou wasn't worth the time of day to the Captain.

Those minor grumbles weren't enough to ruin the overwhelming sense of happiness that Ryou felt, however. She just let those comments drift off into the wind as she prepared for the coming marriage ceremony.

There was quite a lot to plan and although she had some assistance, there was enough things involved to make her head spin.

* * *

Ryou had been more than happy for King Regent Yugi to take up the reigns of planning for the wedding. He had insisted that she give some input, but for the most part the white-haired young woman seemed rather happy to keep her hands out of it – as long as Yugi didn't go too overboard, which the ruler had promised with a cheerful laugh.

So far, Yugi had kept to his word. While the ceremony would be formal and have a large audience, which was tradition and somewhat expected of a member of the Royal Court – Yugi had done his best to keep decorations and the post-ceremony banquet to more simpler terms.

"So, when do you want to be married?" the King Regent asked as he sat with Ryou in the library, scribbling down notes about the wedding. "Oh, the dressmaker is going to be by this afternoon. She's amazing! She's the one that did the wedding garments for my wedding and she's designed all the dress-uniforms for the military...not to mention all the ceremonial outfits for us rulers."

"I was thinking late spring...close to the start of summer," Ryou replied softly. She seemed a little distracted and was biting her bottom lip slightly.

Yugi picked up on this and paused in his writing.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. "You seem troubled."

"I was just thinking," Ryou answered with a slight shake of her head. "Is it really worth doing all this? I'm minor nobility and you are King Regent...it just seems like a lot for you to go out of your way for this."

"You forget I was minor nobility too," Yugi said. "There was such a fuss when my husbands decided to court and then marry me. And I know people are talking about you, Ryou. You and Seto clearly love one another and that's enough in my eyes for you two to be allowed to marry. Your status will be elevated once you marry him, if status concerns you so much. Besides, you are part of Court now so weddings are expected to be a bit on a grand scale."

"I just don't want to bring Seto down," the young woman murmured.

"Ryou. He _loves_ you," Yugi stated firmly. "And after everything the two of you went through, anyone who says you don't deserve one another needs a good kick to their rear. Forget about statuses, alright? You love each other and I've never seen Seto so happy around anyone other than his brother before all this. You are perfect for him – minor status or not. I know for certain Seto could care less about what social status you are. You won't bring Seto down, not by any stretch of the imagination. Now cheer up, alright? You should be happy for your wedding!"

Ryou mustered a small laugh and a smile for the King Regent, who had become something akin to a friend to her – which also had people talking and was also something she would have to try and ignore and not be bothered by. Yugi was right – what was there to be sad about? She was marrying the man she loved dearly.

"Now then, back to planning!" Yugi cheered. "Like I said, Mai – the dressmaker – will be by this afternoon to talk wedding dress stuff with you. Oh, did you have a color scheme in mind? I had to have purple at mine, because you know, royalty and all that, but you get to actually pick. And I know you wanted to leave most of this to me but I want you to at least have things you like!"

Ryou pondered this for a moment, fiddling with the engagement ring on her finger. At first, she thought maybe sapphire blue and emerald green, but those colors were special to her and Seto and she wanted to keep them that way – just something for the two of them. With the decision of marrying in late spring/early summer, she wondered if maybe she should go for something like yellow – but aside from pastel shades she wasn't fond of something that bright.

"I think...a peach color and a cream color," the white-haired woman replied finally. "I don't really like bright colors and I think both of those fit with the time of year...I know stronger colors suite Seto much better though..."

"If those are the colors you want, I'm sure he would be fine with them. You know he's leaving this all up to you, right? He wants you to make this day yours, Ryou. He's probably even less thrilled with how big and formal it has to be, honestly. As long as you're happy – that's what he wants," Yugi said with a soft grin. "So, we'll go with those. They sound perfect, honestly."

Ryou hoped Seto would like it too.

* * *

Kujaku Mai offered a polite bow to King Regent Yugi before the short ruler broke decorum to give the dressmaker/friend a hug. Mai laughed and shook her head, knowing he would never change – though it was nice to have a ruler like this, instead of the usual uppity old men.

"You look well, Majesty," she greeted. "You said you have a new job for me?"

Yugi nodded and stepped back, ushering Ryou forward from where she'd been standing nearby, feeling a bit nervous about meeting someone new.

"This is Lady Ryou Touzoku," the young ruler introduced. "She's getting married to Sir Kaiba early next year so I would like for you to assist her with a dress for the occasion."

"Ah? So, you're the infamous young lady who captured his heart? I'm honored. Majesty, if you'll excuse us," the dressmaker said as the ruler waved them off with a soft laugh. Ryou led Mai down the hallways to her room, so they would have some privacy while measurements were taken and dress ideas were discussed.

* * *

"I hate to break it to you, though you may have guessed that we do have to make you look rather fancy for this," Mai commented as she finished writing down Ryou's measurements as the other woman redressed. "I get the feeling you like more simple things."

Ryou sighed at this.

"I did have the feeling," she replied softly. "And I understand it's something I'll have to get used to."

Mai gave the girl a sympathetic smile.

"So, putting that aside...anything specific you do want for the dress? Did you want to incorporate your wedding colors into the dress as well – that's a popular thing to do these days."

"The colors are peach and cream...I thought that would fit the end of spring, beginning of summer."

The dressmaker hummed thoughtfully and began to do some preliminary sketches on a pad of paper.

"Leave it all to me, hon. I'm going to make that stuffy dragon-shifter's jaw drop when he gets a look at you walking down the aisle!"

* * *

A/N: Clearly this story has decided it wants to go on a bit longer than originally anticipated. See you next chapter...


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I don't own it, I'm just a humble fanfic writer...

A/N: Apologies for the delay, I meant to have this up a lot faster. Life decided otherwise. 2 chapters left after this one!

* * *

Ryou couldn't believe the person looking back at her in the mirror was herself. She was speechless at how much like a princess she looked in the wedding gown that Mai had designed just for her.

The dress was a ball-gown style with a train spreading out behind it. It sat off-shoulder yet somehow still covered her chest up enough to make Ryou not feel uncomfortable. The bodice was delicately embroidered with vine-like patterns and where the bodice met the skirt was a set of three cream colored roses at her left hip. The dress itself was a white color. Cream and peach embroidered lace spilled down from the three flowers over the skirt to add even more volume and decoration. The dress brushed the floor, hiding the simple white ballet flats on her feet. Ryou's arms were bare and a pearl teardrop rested at the hollow of her throat, held in place by a delicate silver chain. Matching pearl teardrops were in her ears.

Ryou's hair had been carefully twisted into a braid with cream and peach ribbons before being pinned up into a bun atop her head, secured in place with hidden bobby pins. A white gossamer tiered cathedral veil was held in place with a simple comb, the edges elaborately detailed with embroidered flowers and vine patterns. Makeup was simple – a touch of rogue to her cheeks in pale pink, lip tint in a pale pink and a dusting of pale pink shimmer to her eyelids.

Mai was making final adjustments as they waited for Ryou's escort to take her to the ballroom, where the wedding ceremony was going to take place.

"I can't believe this is me..." Ryou whispered as she continued to observe the woman in the mirror. "I look like a princess from a fairytale..."

Mai grinned, feeling rather pleased with her creation and quite happy that Ryou felt so amazing in it. She stood from finishing the last adjustment and handed Ryou the final touch – a bouquet of roses in red, peach, cream and white with the stems wrapped up in a white ribbon.

"There you go," the dressmaker said with a thoughtful nod. "You're going to take his breath away, I promise!"

A knock on the door and Ryou drew in a deep breath.

It was time.

* * *

Seto Kaiba didn't want to admit it – but he was nervous as he waited for the appearance of his bride. King Atemu was officiating with Yugi and Yami sitting in places of honor to either side of him. The ballroom was full of nobles and guardsmen – everyone dressed in their best attire for the wedding ceremony.

Seto stood at the alter before the three Royals, Mokuba standing beside him holding the pillow with the wedding rings. Seto was in his white dress uniform while Mokuba was in a white tuxedo with peach and cream accents.

Neither he nor Ryou had parents to attend so Seto simply stood up front from the beginning.

The hall was draped in the wedding colors and the carpet to the alter was covered in scattered flowers. The nobles sat to either side while the guards all stood at attention around the edges.

A small orchestra played traditional wedding tunes and at the sound of the great doors opening to the hall, immediately changed to the familiar tune for the welcoming of the bride.

Escorting Ryou into the hall and to the alter was one Jounouchi Katsuya, looking rather smart in his dress uniform. The blond had taken the escort task surprisingly seriously and his steps were sure as he walked beside Ryou, one of her hands resting on his arm.

A low murmur swept through the gathered audience as they beheld the bride. She seemed almost ethereal as she moved by them, the audience all standing as she passed.

Jounouchi handed the bride off with a bow to Seto before taking his place with the rest of the guards.

Seto was quite speechless at the sight of his soon-to-be-wife. She seemed even more beautiful than when he'd last seen her and once the bouquet had been handed off to an attendant, he was more than ready to hold her small hands in his.

"You may all be seated," King Atemu commanded and waited a moment as the gathered audience took their seats – the guards still remaining in attention position.

The King smiled at the two and cleared his throat.

"Friends, we gather today to celebrate and witness the marriage of these two in matrimony. Today they bind to one another in a bond of eternal love. Before those gathered here they will exchange vows and promises that we as witnesses will hold them to. Marriage is a commitment like no other and in taking this step these two undertake a great oath to cherish one another for all their days."

Seto couldn't help but tighten his grip on Ryou's hands a little and the young woman offered a reassuring squeeze, though she herself was a bundle of nervous energy. While they wanted to do nothing but stare at one another, they focused their attention on the King.

"Seto and Ryou, the hands you hold are those of your best friend. They are hands that will comfort, protect and heal. They are hands that will create a new journey together as husband and wife. As you hold these hands reflect on their strength that will build and lift you up in your lives together."

The King motioned for Mokuba to step forward with the rings.

"Rings are a symbol of the everlasting love between those pledging to live as a married couple. They are the physical representation of promises made to honor and cherish and love one another. In exchanging the rings today, Seto and Ryou exchange their vows and commitments to this union. Seto, please take the ring."

Seto hated having to let go of one of Ryou's hands, but he picked up the ring that had been designed for her – a beautiful wedding band that looked like curled ivy vines and leaves. The dragon shifter was eager to place it on Ryou's finger where it belonged.

"Now then, if you would please repeat after me..."

* * *

The ring was a perfect fit of course and Ryou couldn't help but cry as Seto had stated his vows, feeling very touched at the words and caught up in the moment. She had to take a moment to compose herself before repeating the vows as she set Seto's – a plain wedding band, in comparison to her fancier one – onto his finger where it rightfully belonged.

The King smiled at the two very happy looking ring exchangers, just the tiniest bit amused that Seto was actually showing emotions.

"With the exchange of rings and vows, we gathered here have witnessed the exchange of promises and seen the creation of new bonds. In your new life together, never forget the words you have spoken here and never forget the promises that you have sworn to undertake. It is with great honor that I pronounce you now as husband and wife. Seto, you may kiss the bride!"

As cheers and applause rang up from those gathered (Mokuba cheering the loudest by far), Seto gently kissed his new wife, the two basking in the sweet moment of their first kiss as newlyweds.

They had come so far together and there were still many journeys and trials ahead, for certain. But today, as they celebrated with everyone their marriage, there was simply one word to define them in this very moment:

Happy.


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: Not mine...

A/N: This chapter takes place one and a half years after the prior chapter. One left after this, enjoy!

* * *

Lady Ryou Kaiba – it was still odd to hear herself addressed that way – sighed happily as the sun warmed her up. She was resting in the library on one of the cushioned window seats, having spent most of the day on her feet with the Court. While normally it was something that she could do easily – being on her feet all day – these days it was a bit harder (and would only become moreso with the passing months).

Her clothes hid her figure rather well – courtesy of Mai – and there were few who knew of her condition.

She rested a hand on her stomach, feeling the slight swell. It was still hard to believe that a child was growing inside of her, a small life that she and Seto had created together.

Ryou wondered if the child would be a shifter like Seto or a normal human like herself. Above all however, she wanted the child to be healthy. Neither she nor Seto cared if they had a boy or a girl, though everyone else who knew seemed to be taking bets.

Their quarters in the palace had become a little crowded as of late as well, with things for the child once they were born.

Ryou couldn't yet feel the child moving inside of her, there was still around a month to go before that would happen. Sometimes though she thought she could feel little flutters.

Turning her gaze out the window, the young noblewoman could see the soldier barracks and yard from where she was. The view wasn't entirely clear – she couldn't tell who was who out in the yard but she could imagine that Seto was probably whipping the poor soldiers into shape.

"I wonder what you'll be like..." Ryou murmured as she rubbed her stomach gently. "I hope you are strong and brave like your father...and I promise you'll have a proper childhood. You're already so loved and you'll be taken care of by all who love you..."

* * *

"So...is my niece or nephew here yet?" Mokuba asked with a big (slightly teasing) grin as he arrived home on a school break.

Seto scowled at his younger sibling, reaching down and ruffling Mokuba's hair.

"A proper greeting would be nice," the older dragon-shifter grumbled. "Haven't they taught you anything in school?"

Mokuba just kept grinning and darted away from Seto to greet Ryou, being careful as he gave her a hug of hello. Although she wasn't showing all that much yet, he knew that he needed to be careful with her condition.

Seto watched his brother closely – since Ryou had told him of the pregnancy, he'd found himself becoming a lot more protective of her and the unborn child she carried.

"So, since I'm going to be the best Uncle in the world I get to help with the name, right?" Mokuba commented – doing that thing that younger siblings did to purposefully annoy their older siblings.

"Absolutely not!" Seto growled. "Besides, we've already picked out names. You'll have to wait until they're born to find out."

Ryou giggled as she watched the siblings bicker. It reminded her of the faint memories she had of her older brothers behaving in a similar manner with one another. They never picked on her, even though she was younger.

It was oddly refreshing to see Seto and Mokuba acting this way and she let them have their little sibling squabble, content to just watch.

* * *

The child growing inside of her apparently decided it didn't want to let her feel any kicks at the usual time a pregnant mother expected such things. Anzu spent some time reassuring Ryou that the baby was fine, thinking perhaps the child was on the smaller side or turned in a way that kicks and movement wouldn't be easily detected.

"It's actually not that uncommon. You'd be surprised that sometimes a woman won't feel anything at all the entire time!" the Healer reassured after a check-up. "You are on the smaller side, so my guess is the baby is on the smaller side as well. Being a Healer, I'm a bit more in-tune with sensing things like someone's life-force, and the child is doing just fine. My only request for you until the next check-up is to be careful not to overwork yourself. Also make sure to eat well despite the cravings I'm sure you're dealing with. I think I'm going to go ahead and limit you on lifting as well, just to be safe. Have a servant or someone help you if you need to lift anything heavy."

Ryou felt a little relieved that Anzu could sense nothing wrong with the baby. She had been growing worried as she hadn't been able to feel anything yet, despite it being the right time.

"Not even born yet and already causing me worry," she murmured with a soft laugh. "I wonder who you get that from..."

* * *

It was during a leisurely stroll with Seto through the gardens that Ryou first felt their child kick.

In fact, it was a rather obvious jab into one of her kidneys that had her gasping and nearly doubling over, which of course sent Seto into an almost-panic.

The dragon-shifter helped Ryou over to a bench, tail swishing in agitation as he tried to figure out what was wrong. Was the baby alright? Was it coming far too early?

Ryou sat for several tense and long moments, a hand resting on her stomach as her poor husband nearly had himself a heart attack, dragon-half not entirely sure how to deal with all these new "human" emotions that the human-half was experiencing.

"Ryou...?" Seto asked and the noblewoman wanted to honestly have a bit of a laugh at the poor misfortune her husband was dealing with.

"I'm alright," she reassured him. "I'm sorry I caused you worry again. The baby finally kicked and decided it didn't like where some of my organs were, I suppose. Such a little troublemaker..."

The sigh of relief that Seto let out was almost comical and the dragon-shifter hugged his wife, tension draining from his body.

It was going to be a very interesting few months, Ryou suspected. She just hoped that her husband would be able to handle the actual birth if this was how he handled the baby kicking!

* * *

The months went by and while it seemed the baby was staying on the smaller side, the unborn child had quite the personality – kidneys seemed to be the favorite target and strange hours of the morning seemed to be when that was the best time to be practicing kicks and punches. Healer Anzu continued to reassure her that the child was doing just fine and although probably small, that they would more than likely arrive on schedule.

"I'm the best Healer in the kingdom!" Anzu said with a laugh and a grin. "I'll be able to help out no matter what – both you and the child. Just do your best to stay relaxed and also, this far along no more Court duties. I want you to take it easy and rest! Let Seto and Shizuka take care of helping you out, I don't want you by yourself for the rest of the pregnancy."

* * *

It was an ordinary day when the child decided it was time to make their debut into the world.

Ryou had been feeling more fatigued as the day wore on and she was sure she'd had a few small contractions, though perhaps they had been the fake ones that Anzu had been talking about.

The young woman was resting in bed, feeling rather uneasy. Shizuka sat at her side and Lira was pacing, both of them feeling uneasy as well.

Ryou sucked in a breath as she felt pain spike in her stomach and knew then that she had started labor earlier, and that it was now kicking into a higher gear.

"Shizuka, please summon Healer Anzu here," she hissed through her teeth to the servant. "And please send someone to fetch Seto...I don't think it's going to be much longer before the baby is here."

* * *

Seto was pretty certain he never wanted to hear the sounds of Ryou screaming in pain ever again. He knew it was because their child was arriving in the world, but he didn't like that his mate was in such discomfort.

"Push, you've almost done it!" Anzu encouraged as Ryou squeezed Seto's hand in a death-grip. "Almost...!"

A final scream from Ryou and a new sound filled the air – the cries of a newborn baby exercising their lungs and voice to the fullest capacity.

"Congratulations!" Anzu cheered as she moved the newborn to Ryou's waiting arms. "You have a healthy baby boy!"

Seto and Ryou's world immediately narrowed to just the three of them, the parents forgetting that anyone else was in the room with them as they focused on their newborn son.

Ryou couldn't help the tears that sprang to her eyes – overwhelmed by everything. The child was perfect and everything was alright now that he was here.

"Welcome to the world, Seiichi."


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I don't own it...

A/N: And this is it, the final chapter! Thank you all so much for sticking with it and for all the support! This final chapter takes place 3 years after the previous chapter.

* * *

Kaiba Seiichi was a three-year-old on a mission.

A very important mission.

At least, to a three-year-old dragon shifter, it was a very important mission.

The child sat near to where his father was working on some documentation for the Royals on the status of the military, staring intently at Seto's tail as it lazily swished. Seiichi had an intense look of concentration and determination on his young face as his own tail twitched behind him.

Seiichi was nearly the spitting image of his father, although he had his mother's brilliant green eyes.

The little one almost resembled a cat in the process of stalking and pouncing on prey.

Of course, being three years of age, Seiichi hadn't exactly mastered the art of being subtle and sneaky.

He didn't realize that his father could hear him growling quietly and Seto was finding it hard to keep from smiling (if only a tiny bit) in amusement, knowing what his son was planning. He was lucky that Seiichi's teeth didn't really hurt all that much just yet.

Neither Seto nor Ryou could figure out what was so fascinating about Seto's tail to their son. But since the age he'd been able to walk, Seiichi had latched onto Seto's tail.

Now that he was growing into his dragon features, that including trying to eat it, apparently. Or just use it as a chew toy.

Seiichi continued to stare intently at his target and pounced with a little attempt at a roar, pinning Seto's tail down with his small body and chomping down.

Seto merely sighed and paused in his writing to turn in his chair slightly and look down at his son.

Seiichi was growling and happily gnawing on Seto's tail – teeth thankfully not enough to do any lasting damage.

Seto was pretty certain that he'd never had a fascination with tails when he was a youngster and Mokuba certainly hadn't had it, so he wasn't entirely sure where Seiichi got the behavior.

A quiet knock at the door did nothing to distract the little dragon shifter and he kept his hold on his father's tail as the door opened.

* * *

Ryou wasn't entirely surprised to see that Seiichi was gnawing on Seto's tail again. She smiled fondly at their son and made her way into the room, one hand resting on her enlarged stomach. It seemed that Seto's fears and dislikes of Ryou being in pain due to childbirth hadn't been enough to keep them from having another child. Ryou wasn't due for some time yet but this one was proving just as rambunctious as Seiichi had been.

"Seiichi, let go!" Ryou scolded – not getting a response other than a loud growl from the child. "Seto, he isn't hurting you, is he?"

"He doesn't have sharp teeth yet," her husband responded. "And our tails are rather strongly plated, so I am protected from too much discomfort. I am as confused as you on why he seems to like doing it, though..."

The little shifter was so focused on the tail he was gnawing on that he hadn't even really noticed his mother entering the room, much less scolding him. The three-year-old was entirely fixated on subduing his father's tail to death via chewing on it.

"I should have realized something was up when he had those fabled terrible twos..." Ryou said with a shake of her head. She winced as the unborn child inside of her gave a mighty kick against a kidney. "And I think this one is going to be just as troublesome..."

Seto frowned and felt a spike of agitation from his dragon-half.

"Oh, don't mind what I say," Ryou murmured as she looked at him. "All this discomfort is worth it to grow our family. Now I think we should see about getting Seiichi to let go of your tail so we can all get lunch."

The three-year-old apparently had very selective hearing and at the word 'lunch' he immediately dropped Seto's tail from his mouth and beamed up at his mother.

"Lunch!" the child echoed, recognizing that the word meant he was going to get food. Seiichi had a rather voracious appetite (which Seto said wasn't uncommon for hatchling-age shifters). He'd quickly learned what words meant that food was on the way and his parents (and everyone else in the palace) had quickly learned to be careful in using certain words – lest they give Seiichi false impressions and upset him.

Finally freed from the not-really-sharp teeth of his son, Seto stood from the chair and scooped the boy up into his arms – Anzu had restricted what things Ryou could do and bending, much less lifting Seiichi was now out of the question – the child loudly cheering the word 'lunch' over and over.

Watching her little family, Ryou couldn't help but smile fondly. It was amazing to think they had reached this point in their lives – married, a happy healthy child and another on the way. Waking up each day next to Seto with Seiichi in his room beside theirs was still special to her.

Ryou had grown up with her body slowly failing her as she turned into a doll and she had not known companionship or love until the what had nearly been the final years of her life.

That she now got to experience love and happiness on a daily basis was something she didn't take for granted. Ryou knew she was lucky.

"Mama! Lunch!"

Ryou snapped out of her thoughts to see the toddler giving her a rather exasperated and impatient look from where he was perched in Seto's arms.

Laughing, the young woman moved to join her little family, Seiichi immediately brightening as they made their way from Seto's study to the kitchens to get something to eat. Tail wagging and arms waving, the three-year-old was a bundle of happy energy at the prospect of food.

They made the picture of a perfect family and considering the history that Seto and Ryou shared – it was hard to look at them and feel anything but joy. Those jealous or bitter of their wedding had come to see that the two were perfect for one another, regardless of the history or Ryou's former status as a minor noble.

"Mama, have sweets?" Seiichi asked with the most innocent wide-eyed expression a three-year-old could come up with. The little shifter had been spoiled lately by King-Regent Yugi, who gave him sugary candies that only served to exacerbate his already hyper toddler-self. Being a child, Seiichi had developed the want to have them instead of normal, healthy meals – despite how much he loved food in general.

"After lunch," Ryou replied firmly. "Lunch first and then you may have sweets."

"Otay..." Seiichi pouted briefly before getting a thoughtful and slightly sly look on his chubby face. "Have...thwee sweets?" He hadn't entirely grasped the concept of numbers, but he knew that three was more than one.

Seto just rolled his eyes as their clever child attempted to get things in his favor.

Ryou refrained from wincing as the child inside of her beat up her kidneys again. Perhaps the unborn one was attempting to coerce her to agree with Seiichi.

"We will see after we eat lunch," the noblewoman replied, reaching up and ruffling Seiichi's hair. "You need a good lunch to get big and strong, remember? Don't you want to be big and strong like Papa?"

"Big!" Seiichi giggled as he threw his arms out to demonstrate exactly how big he meant. "Wanna be big!"

"Then you should eat a proper lunch," Seto chimed in. "You won't get big if you only eat sweets."

The look of horror in response to this was nearly comical, but the child quickly forgot about this as they entered the kitchens and the smell of fresh food reached his nose.

It was nice that toddlers had short attention spans sometimes.

* * *

Months later, Ryou could only smile as Seiichi cooed over the newest addition to their family – his newborn little brother resting in Ryou's arms after making a very noisy entrance into the world. Little Yuuta hadn't opened his eyes yet but he already had a fuzz of dark hair on his head, though it could still lighten as he got older. Like his older brother, if he had any dragon-shifter features, they wouldn't start to show up until around his first birthday.

Seto once again found himself marveling (and also remembering that he hated the pain Ryou had gone through for childbirth) that there was another little being in the world that he and Ryou had created together.

For the two of them – the dragon-shifter and the former doll-cursed, life seemed better than ever.

Being together here now – with Seiichi making happy little sounds as he looked at his tiny new brother – made both Ryou and Seto feel complete. In this little bubble of just the four of them, before excited people came to see the new baby, there was nothing but happiness and a warm feeling of peace.

They had gone down a very strange and often scary road to get to this point, but neither one of them would have changed anything if it had meant never reaching this place together.

The dark story they had written with their lives had now become a story full of hope, love and light.

Kaiba Seto, the dragon-shifter Captain of the Royal Guard and Kaiba Ryou, the former doll-cursed noblewoman wrapped up this story of the first part of their long life together in the most fairytale way –

Happily Ever After.

The End.


End file.
